Why gaming IS good for your mental health.

[Jumpin]

I’ve found it goes both ways. I’m not generally a depressive guy, but I do get depressed when I feel I’m wasting a lot of time.
I find learning games, experiencing stories/adventures through games, and simple social experiences through local multiplayer to be mentally rewarding.
However, on the flip side, I find most online games to be somewhat depressing because of the wasted time. The core of it is that I don’t find the experiences rewarding, just time killing. This goes beyond regular single player games that don’t really go anywhere because I feel less compulsion to continue playing them longer than my interest in them. With online games, I feel obligated to push on way longer and way further than my interest in the game. When I stop playing online games, all I can think of is what I could have achieved with that time.