Q&A for How to Stop Playing Video Games

Playing video games is fun! That said, if self-discipline is not taught from a young age, it can become quite difficult in our teen and adult years to discipline ourselves.

While it is healthy to play at any age, too much can often lead to us neglecting other key aspects of our lives. We need to nurture both aspects of ourselves, the adult that provides structure and the child that enjoys playing. You can try setting up a reminder in your phone to alert you when to start and stop.

You don't need to. You just need to become strict with yourself. Plan your time, and find a way to make more productive things, like studying, enjoyable.

That is up to you. You don't really have to quit forever, you can stop playing video games by playing outside with your non gamer friends, you can always pick the games up later, but rarely as you are looking to quit gaming.

It depends. If doing homework for a specific night will keep you up late, you should get some sleep instead of gaming. But if you have a night where you have plenty of time after doing your homework, gaming could be a good way to relax.

Sell your console, controllers, and games. Uninstall every game from your computer, and uninstall steam (or any other online game platform). Strip your computer of any excess hardware only necessary for gaming. Put your earnings straight into the bank and take up a new hobby.

It is indeed very possible. You have a love for gaming. Look at what could you have done instead of spending countless hours looking at a screen, repeating the same process over and over again. There are much better ways to relax, or spend free time than gaming. Go for a walk with your friends and later go out and you'll see that gaming is nothing compared to being with family and friends.

Find out WHY your parents dislike your hobbies. Are your hobbies not good for your physically or intellectually or emotionally? Do you parents have some valid points?

By keeping in mind that reduction in your productivity or effectiveness at work will result in your termination. And if your answer to that is, "Oh, they don't care that I'm late," then you will most likely soon be fired or have already been flagged as a disposable employee. Your efforts (or lack thereof) do not go unnoticed.

Make school your hobby. If you enjoy competition, let that show in the classroom through measurable means, such as your grades and the scholarships you may receive because of them. Likewise, try to actually apply the content you're trying to learn in your courses - that will provide more function of use -- versus temporary memorization/cramming just for a grade.

Uninstall all games from your PC, unplug your consoles, tell someone close to you to hide your discs and not to tell you. Just go outside, hang out with friends, go to the gym or play soccer at a local field.

If you are serious about quitting, then you should never play for longer than an hour. As your resolve becomes stronger, take it down to half an hour, then don't play at all.

Think of the positive effects of quitting, such as having more time to spend with your friends in real life. Mutual friends on a shooter aren't as important as real friends.

Spending no time would be best. Try doing something with your friends or doing a new hobby, but if you must play, do not play longer than an hour and do it late in the day.

Just tell them that you want to stop, and ask if they want to do something else instead of gaming, like playing with a pet, playing a sport, building a tree house, starting a new hobby, etc. If this doesn't work, find one or two new friends who have other interests.

They will be more upset if they find out you've been lying to them. Just tell them you need to talk at a time when they can give you their full attention and then tell them exactly what's been going on and that you're sorry.

Some people let video games take over their lives to the point where they neglect their friends, family, chores, or schoolwork, so taking a break can be healthy. Other people would just prefer to focus their time on other hobbies like reading or working outdoors. You don't have to stop unless you feel like video games are negatively impacting your life.

Just press the power button on your system/computer, and you will stop. Find a new hobby to replace it.

Do as you wish, just don't lie to yourself. If you know, that playing with them is wasting your time or you have good reason to not play... then don't. If you want to quit playing, you may have to tell these friends you'll hang out with them when they're doing other activities.

Have someone watch you do your homework and ask them to help you stay on track. Try to focus on what you are doing, rather than wishing you could play video games. School is more important than playing games!

There is probably no way to do this. Breaking habits requires you to be strict. If you're not in a hurry to quit, I guess you could take it slow and just cut down on an hour or two of playing every day until you're no longer playing at all.

Just sell them or give them away. Then replace this with a new hobby.

Delete it, and if you can't do that, ask someone to delete for you. After that, never play the game again.

EBay or Craigslist would be your most accessible means of arranging that.

Ask your parents to force you to turn it off.

You could stop playing that video game and start doing games on a board, like chess, which don't include using technology and are just as fun.

Yes, as long as that 30 minutes doesn't interfere with your schoolwork or other responsibilities (and your parents say it's okay).

Yes, you can. This article has several tips that can be helpful for cutting back on your gaming time without ending it completely.

You could read a book, play a sport, or participate in a hobby. If you don't have a hobby, try something new.

Stop playing Roblox gradually and spend that time doing something creative. Engage yourself in other activities and you will start feeling a bit bored of Roblox.