"Addiction" by Dixie Lawrence
Are you bringing an Xbox or a similar game-playing device to campus?
What’s your favorite game?
How often and how long do you play?
Have you ever played longer than you wanted to or should have?
Are there other electronic or web-based distractions that could be problems for you in the coming semester? Why or why not?
For context, I am answering the first and third questions presented.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am. In fact, I'm bringing several, my Nintendo Switch, my Nintendo 3DS XL and the laptop I'm using to type out this answer.
Absolutely. I think everyone that enjoys video games on more than a casual level will have one experience like this. Sometimes you simply get lost in the living, breathing world that the artists designed, and other times, you just couldn't care less about the outside world, and you just want to watch a half-human, half-demon man put on a cowboy hat and dance in a style extremely reminiscent of Michael Jackson.
Are there other electronic or web-based distractions that could be problems for you in the coming semester? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't consider myself a procrastinator, but an easily distracted mind that wonders and would rather be scrolling on social media than writing or calculating. Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat are rabbit holes of scrolling, and eat away time without you ever realizing it. It's a hamster wheel. You sit down after a long day at school and work to do homework and put your books and laptop beside you, that way you HAVE to study. Someone texts you, so obviously you have to answer the text. That reminds you of an ad you saw on instagram that you forgot to go back and look at earlier. Soon enough you're scrolling through Instagram reels about cake decorating and an hour has gone by. Well, now you have to have cake. After searching the entire town for cake with friends, you return home to realize your books were still in the same spot, unopened. Though there was no intention in doing any of that when you only meant to answer a text. In order to get things done and to not be tempted by social media, I have learned to distance myself figuratively and literally from my phone. In my opinion, even people with mighty self-control and discipline (such as myself) can struggle with mindless scrolling that causes things to not get done. College will heighten the struggle and causes students to carefully consider how much time they spend on their phone. Not only because of the lack of productivity it creates, but also because of how much it causes students to hide in their dorm rooms rather than exploring all the (safe and responsible) things college has to offer. Though it may take time to get used to and adjust to, making the conscious effort to be smart about screen time can make all the difference in your college experience.
That's an excellent description of the power of distractions! I definitely understand the struggle, as I have always been a master procrastinator, especially when it comes to school related tasks (I mean, look at me now.... I have literally had weeks to do these blog posts, but I'm doing them the day before class starts XD). I think I have just always gotten in my head that school stuff is super boring; so, I will literally find about any task to do instead. Or sometimes I intend on doing something that needs to get done and then I get distracted by something seemingly small which quickly spirals out of control, similar to the scenario you mentioned. So far, the best thing I have found to improve my procrastination has been taking on bigger responsibility. It makes the future less clear (like as far as estimating how much time I'll have for things) and increases the amount of stress I have, forcing me to finish things sooner. I also have tried to eliminate distractions like video games or social media by not starting them in the first place (e.g. not powering on the console or not downloading TikTok).
DeleteLizzie Jones^^^
ReplyDeleteAre there other electronic or web-based distractions that could be problems for you in the coming semester? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I don't have an Xbox, but my phone has plenty of distractions to choose from. If I'm not careful, I can spend an hour or two on TikTok in one sitting, which I always feel guilty for after. I know that the app developers designed it that way where we give it more screen time, but I do not think that is very ethical. I personally feel like we give an unhealthy amount of time to our screens, so I try to cut down on that by setting app timers. Pinterest and Instagram could potentially be a problem, but a good amount of the things I use these apps for is inspiration in art and writing.
I completely understand spending a lot of time on Tik Tok. I honestly stopped getting on Tik Tok because every time I did, I completely lost sense of time. For example, I would get on it around 4 in the afternoon and the next it's around 8 at night. I hated it because I would lose so much time in what felt like a blink of an eye.
DeleteI plan on bringing my Nintendo Switch with me to school and am not yet sure if I will bring my ps4 that depends on how my schedule will actually work out and how much extra space I have in my dorm. It shouldnt be too much of a problem as I had no issues with it last year but I am sure I will have one or two of those, "Oh I should have left several minutes ago" moments. Everyone will have those moments though as there are innumerable apps designed to kill massive amounts of time without anyone noticing.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I am not brining a gaming device to campus. Growing up, my brother and I would always share his gaming devices such as a Play Station or Xbox, so there was never a reason for me to go out and buy my own gaming device. I am not a huge gamer, but I love my social media. Mainly TikTok. The good thing is my brother also goes to ECU, and he brought both his PS4 and Xbox, so if I ever get bored, I know just who to call. I do not have a favorite game to play, considering I’m a social media lover, but if I do decide to play something, it would definitely be Minecraft. That is the only game I am good at, lol! You can build anything you want on creative mode and on survival mode you get to find resources and build everything from the ground up. You also get to fight zombies, skeletons, and spiders on survival mode, but they all scare me, so I usually stick to creative mode. Like I said, I don’t play games very often, but I do have a TikTok addiction. I 100% have watched those videos way longer than I should have. I am pretty sure I have watched almost every TikTok that has ever been made and that is no joke. I will be scrolling, watching videos for hours and not even realize because I am so engaged. I guess you could say TikTok makes up for me not playing any video games. TikTok and Netflix will be very distracting while trying to get my schoolwork done. I have been on a tv show kick lately and have binge-watched multiple series on Netflix throughout the last couple of months. “Stranger Things” is a must-see by the way! The good thing is I am pretty good at putting my phone down when trying to do schoolwork or complete assignments. I do not think I will have any major problems with my electronic devices distracting me this semester, or at least I hope not!
ReplyDeleteI am bringing my pc with me, which is what I primarily use to game on. I don't necessarily have a favorite game, but I do have a favorite genre. Open world survival games are my jam, some examples being Minecraft, Subnautica, Terraria, and the list goes on. I spend most of my free time on my computer, which is a habit I will need to break in college. Its easy to lose track of time when gaming, and that can be a critical error during college. I've had times where I was up at 2:00 am and I had no idea that it had gotten that late. I will need to put in a considerable amount of effort to stay on track with school this year.
ReplyDeleteI am bringing my gaming PC and a laptop. The laptop is for school and work, and the PC will be for me to wind down. I don't plan to play more than two hours at a time, and I don't plan to stay up past midnight to play. I set a strict rule for myself that I cannot let my games get in the way of my grades, but playing a little bit to get rid of stress will benefit my grades. I can also use it as a means to talk to friends back home. I have found, for me, I don't do too well under high stress, so I can use the games for a short period of time, and only after my work is done.
ReplyDeleteI am not bringing any video games to campus. To be honest, I have never really enjoyed playing video games. The only electronic devices that I will be bringing to campus are my phone and a calculator. There are many things in campus that could definitely be a distraction, but I don’t believe that electronics will be one of them. I used to spend a lot of time on my phone, but this past summer, I haven’t spent hardly any time on it.
ReplyDeletere you bringing an Xbox or a similar game-playing device to campus?, Are there other electronic or web-based distractions that could be problems for you in the coming semester? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI am bringing my xbox to campus this semester. Since I am not totally addicted to video games, it is purely a way for me to play and chat with my friends far and wide and de stress. I have major problems with being addicted to my phone. It has an infinite amount of games, lots of things to see on social media, and people to talk to. I could lose hours without even realizing it just being distracted by tik toks. In high school it was easier to pull out my phone than do my work. I’m hopeful that I will be able to limit my screen time and make it less of a distraction in my college life.
Mallory Forgione
DeleteAs of right now I'm not bringing a gaming console to college with me. I want to start out with as little as distraction as possible. I do enjoy gaming every now and then though so I may end up bring it back from a trip home.
ReplyDeleteI think there may be a few web based distractions for me this semester. I spend way too much time on YouTube or watching movies than I should. That may be a problem for me when I need to study or something like that. It will be hard for me to handle and adjust to it.
While I am not bringing any type of console to campus, I still play on those that my roommates brought with them. I have been playing Minecraft since I was very young, so it is not difficult at all for me to say that it’s my favorite game ever. I could not tell you how many hours I have played Minecraft, but I am convinced that the number would be staggering. I don’t get to play often nowadays because of my work and school schedule, but when I was younger, the sessions would last for hours at a time. I have most definitely played longer than I should have before. It is way too easy to get lost in a game that you enjoy, that you are invested in. Nevertheless, I am much better about limiting my screen time when it comes to gaming now, thankfully. That being so, it is not much of an issue distraction-wise and I don’t believe that it is going to be a problem for me this semester, as I have enough self-control to know when I need to stop playing and be productive.
ReplyDeleteI will be bringing my laptop and sometimes maybe my Nintendo switch to the campus. I also have my phone to keep me busy. I am a pretty big procrastinator, mainly out of anxiety. I get distracted easily, even if there’s nothing electronic with me. I play games often and for a very long time when I have something like that. It’s my main source of entertainment and I also kind of need them for my major anyway.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think there’s any more time that I could get for gaming. I play nearly all day almost which I know it’s bad but I have nothing else.
While I do not consider myself a gamer, I do dabble, especially in MarioKart. I am not bringing any kind of gaming device with me. However, I do always have my phone on me. It is so easy for me to be grinding away on my homework, then get a notification and become distracted. Whether it be from SnapChat, Instagram, TikTok, or even Facebook, I become quickly sidetracked from whatever I am working on. I am always worried that anytime my phone goes off it may be because someone is trying to get ahold of me which is why I am so quick to check any sort of notification. While this is a positive attribute, it is also a downfall. To counteract this toxic trait I typically put my phone on Do Not Disturb or leave it somewhere out of sight, because as we all know, “out of sight, out of mind”.
ReplyDeleteI love video games. I love playing them on my own or with friends, they actually make a great way to spend time with my friends, especially nintendo games like Mario kart, Mario party, etc. My favorite game would probably be minecraft, because I can play it on my own or with friends and have a good time either way. I only play them like twice a week for about 2 hours just because I have little to no free time between work and school. In the past when I didn't have so much going on I definitely spent way too much time playing games, I would spend all night playing games at one point. I could've been doing something more productive but it kept me content.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am bringing my Nintendo Switch so I can play Animal Crossing: New Horizons. My favorite game is ANY of the animal crossings games. It holds a very special place in my heart and has gotten me through a lot in my life. I play it every day right before I go to bed. It is my way to relax and unwind. When I am not in school, I do spend an unhealthy amount of time on that game. It has never been a discipline concern for me during school; however, I normally do a pretty good job of maintaining a sense of responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI am bringing a Nintendo switch to college with me. My favorite game is either Animal Crossing New Horizons or Apex Legends. Over the summer, I played Apex with a group of friends almost every night after work. I haven’t played since the school year started. I play animal crossing at least once a week and enjoy it a lot. I played for too long into the night and regretted it the next morning when it was time to get up for work or school. Another distraction would probably be social media, which I would consider web based. I find myself looking at things my extended family shared for way too long. I liked to see what everyone is up to, but the endless scrolling features on these apps tend to mess up the perception of time.
ReplyDelete