Has gaming had a positive or negative impact on your life?

Some of the posts here are painful reading and I can relate to in one way or another from early fond memories of playing on the NES to Age of Empires helping me in history classes. Good hand-eye co-ordination helping me swing a bat in cricket, spending way too much spent on online games (something I am sad to see happening to the young ones in my family circle as those are more readily available nowadays) but in its true form it's always been there for me to try and quell life's woes.

Family and friends that turned to more long-lasting damaging coping mechanisms is my only saving grace here but I know there are better ways to go about it. Easier said than done though. I'll keep that gear in neutral.

I'd like to know that as well.

Definitely positive. I unwind and recharge before the next working day. Moreover games add more colors to life because real life unfortunately is not so colorful + music of course. The main thing you play the games that match your inner energy :)

I will quote a wise man and say... Yes.

Positive:
-learned English
-Thanks to Age of Empire 2 I have interested in history
-And grained more other interest
-In middle school I been heavy sick (almost die) and been bullying after I recovered from illness: Games keep my mental state stable
-I meet nice people around the world
-Technically I gave money to charity (thanks to HB and other events)

Gaming lead to learning English (first by playing games and then by learning with chat with native speakers via forums and IRC), learning coding and 'computer stuff' in general. There's also the big time sink, but on the other hand I'm sure I would have filled that void with something equally as 'useless' ;) So overall it's a positive for me.

I voted negative, because I love games and quite a lot of girls said NO to me, because I mentioned, that I am also sometimes playing games (I have never told them truth that I can play games even for whole day)... so still I am single and currently I am in my late 30s and I think I will stay single forever :-( So I just work, play games and do some sports...
And gaming + relationships it can not go together :-(

Voted positive with a caveat. I've been gaming since I was about 2 years old (thanks to dad for getting a toddler me a Sega Genesis), so the thought of me not playing video games is a bit hard to grasp, since it is very much a part of who I am. I have used it as a crutch when I was not at my best (my WoW /played on my Spriest was terrifying), but like with everything else, it is a balance that I've gotten better with over the years. Gaming has led me to learn about parts of the world and cultures that I wouldn't have known about otherwise, to meet people who are awesome and is just overall fun. So yes, in the grand scheme of things, gaming has been a positive impact on my life and I'm glad I was born in the time where I can enjoy them :).

I will say it's overall had a positive impact. I only started gaming relatively late in life, at least in a more involved way, and it's helped me through some rough times. I kinda focused on learning english properly in the beggining to be able to understand some games better tbh lol...
But yeah, through the pandemic or other times where I was feeling very lonely, or to connect with friends from far away in a way apart from just chatting, it's kept me company in a nice and distracting way. Right now I'm going through chemo for Hodgkin's lymphoma, and some days are very hard both physically and mentally, so having a relaxing hobby that doesn't exert me very much while also allowing me to think of something else has been invaluable (I've even played games during actual chemo, god bless portable consoles)

Overall positive I guess

Definitely positive. My love for IT and Troubleshooting began when Duke Nukem would not run on my Tulip 486 SX after playing it a few days prior. "Try unloading your TSRs" it said. Fixed it after eating my MS-DOS 3.0 manual and I have not looked back since.
I got into Windows, coding, graphics design, gaming design, sound editing, video editing and more because of great games. It really helps with critical thinking and problem solving if you and your kids get into the right games early.

I've also learned a lot about other countries, culture and history by playing games.

Absolutly negative. Aside from the fact that it helped me a lot with english, I'd say that, overall, it ruined my life.
Guess that I was a kid with a lot of potential, I ended up being a NEET living a hikikomori life with a severe addiction toward my computer.

Being overly shy and sensitive hasn't helped either. been avoiding social contact, even online. So I stuck mostly to solo games, and the very few MMOs I've played, I have been doing solo builds.I've only been trying to socialize and be active in various online communities for a few months now.

Despite the fact I love video games, I really regret the time invested in them.

I would have preferred to find out some videogame "nerd club" and game more than having social drinkers as friends years ago. No matter what people say, drinking on weekends is not the best thing to do, It's a disease. I know I sound like a party pooper but If I could change those drinking days for gaming sessions with some "nerds" I would. Stop meeting those people was the best decision I made. Most of the persons I have met on jobs/outside love drinking. Alcohol is a real problem, not videogames.
So I guess the answer is yes, gaming had a positive impact on me.

On one hand, I'm definitely happier, on the other, my social life is dead and I no longer wish to reconnect with friends because I realize I do not enjoy being near them.

day 1 dlc, pre ordering digital games, deluxe editions.

I would say, very positive. I started very late at age 47. Only problem with that is that I have the skills of a 7 year old and the mind of a grown up lol. It's a great hobby to have being single. You can do it whenever you want to without the need of others. It's safe as you do it in your own living room. And there are so many different games to explore, sometimes surprising yourself to find out you like games you didn't expect to like. It's great and by now I prefer to spend time alone, playing a game I like over having company.

I would say neutral.
I've had my ups and downs with gaming. Overall I consider it to be quit a time waster, but at the same time it is enjoyable. And what else do you need from a hobby?

The problem for me is - you can kid yourself as much as you want to, but you don't give gaming only an hour or two once every two evenings. You most likely give several hours to it each evening. And while I wouldn't really say that's bad - it is taking away time from so much more stuff you could do.

I was quit addicted when I was younger and it did cause problems for me with school and social life. I mean I did fine - I finished Uni and have degree in engineering and masters in business. But instead of taking on a summer job or doing something in the evenings I put gaming a bit higher in priority list. I started skipping on doing homework, going out, learning something that could actually stimulate my brain. I am in a happy relationship now, but I got that waaaaaaaay over average age at which you get kids even. Same goes for starting a real career or developing hobbies I'm good at.

Now that I am "responsible" adult I would like to read more books, study a new subject, learn guitar, go to gym more, try to start my own business. But I still crave to sit down and play something for several hours...... And while I would agree to some extent some specific games can help you stimulate your brain (at least way more then just watching TV), overall I would put it way down below actual hobbies (sports, music, crafts)

I respect those who find solitude in games when they are feeling down or fighting depression. But for me its other way around. If I'm happy I can play easily for a long time and continue enjoying the day. When I'm feeling down, playing games only makes me sadder and I can't continue on concentrating on playing.

So it has its ups and downs with gaming for me. Of course I will not stop gaming. I will still download Witcher 3 in a year and do another playthrough. But if I get the chance I will try to prioritize other stuff over gaming.

Neutral for me.
I play games since I was 4 (megadrive <3)
Spent a lot of time playing when I could've been studying, watching movies or leaning some languages, that were always things that I loved to do. Had two boyfriends that i met through gaming, and also felt neglected by both because they were a lot more into gaming than into me.
BUT - I also made a lot of great friends that helped me in many many ways and I know i can rely on them completely.

After some time in online communities (almost 20 years now), I learned how to balance things. I still love playing but to kill some time after doing other things that I love and that are more important.

I can't see how gaming ever did any harm to me. I can see how it helped me a lot in many ways though.