How much time did you spend playing video games and computers in the 80s?
Posted by Admirable-Fall-906@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 43 comments
I mean was there a problem with screen time then?
LithiuMart@reddit
All of it. When I went out, it was to go to friends houses to play two player games on their computers with them.
When I was at home, all my spare time was spent on my computer.
It all changed when I hit 18, then pubs and clubs beckoned.
Oh__Archie@reddit
Seven
BlueSnaggleTooth359@reddit
Definitely a fair amount, but nothing overboard at all. In general I don't think you really saw too much overboard with that sort of thing until at least the mid or later 90s and still nothing like until around maybe a little bit into the 2010s.
nomaxxallowed@reddit
Very little. I didnt have a computer till the 90's.
McCale@reddit
I spent 12hrs straight playing A Link to the Past from start to finish when I was about 13-14. I thought that was crazy at the time. Then I see how much my kids game ..... 😳
GaRGa77@reddit
Not enough if you ask me but too much if you ask my parents so 🤣
juliemoo88@reddit
None, and neither did any of my friends. We were too busy experiencing real life and interacting with real people. For context, the 80s were peak junior high and high schools years for me.
No one could afford to buy computers for home, and schools didn't have them other. I remember one guy in high school who was a genius. He was offered a job by a big tech firm before he graduated high school, including a full scholarship to university. Even he had to go to the university to use their computers.
DeezSaltyNuts69@reddit
Well that is pretty condescending don't ya think
Real people did go to the arcades to play games with their friends and other people
real people did have game consoles at home and played multi-player games with their friends
real people did then and do now get involved in game tournaments, conventions, etc
therian_cardia@reddit
All of it
SpookyMorden@reddit
This is the correct answer.
discussatron@reddit
I didn’t have a lot of opportunity, but I played whenever I could. Never had a home system as a kid or teen, didn’t spend a lot of time in arcades. Once I moved out I eventually bought my first Nintendo system (SNES, maybe?) and I’ve owned a PC since 97, and I’ve had a console and/or PC to game on since.
PhysicsTeachMom@reddit
Not that much. Our parents pretty much shoved us out the door and said go play. And no one’s forts had electric so….
I guess you could say we played caveman virtual reality using our minds, sticks, stones, and avoiding quicksand.
LivingEnd44@reddit
Not as much as I wanted.
Now there's nobody to tell me "no". I love being an adult.Â
Judgy-Introvert@reddit
Almost none. Wasn’t really my thing and none of my friends were really into it. We liked to go to the arcade on occasion, but we mostly preferred to be outside riding bikes or rollerskating.
timfountain4444@reddit
A lot. Recall there was no internet, no cell phones, 4 channels of shit on the TV and disconnect parents...
happycj@reddit
Well, it cost money in the 80s. Quarters, specifically. Some games were so popular they charged $0.50 per play! You could burn through your allowance in an hour, if you weren't careful.
wolfysworld@reddit
None. My parents weren’t technology people. We had computers in school a couple of times a week but otherwise none.
Lopsided_Tomatillo27@reddit
We had an Atari and mom would kick my two brothers and I off of it regularly. I don’t think it was out of concern for us, she just wanted peace and quiet.
Admirable-Fall-906@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the replies! :)
MyriVerse2@reddit
A few hours a day. I was getting into programming too. There were concerns about TV watching.
R67H@reddit
Computers not very much at all. Just word processing, really. Arcade games, on the other hand..... that was where it was at. I even had an Atari 2600 that I rarely used.
Easy_Ambassador7877@reddit
Not a lot. We got an Atari when they came out and played on it until we broke the controllers. I didn’t really rediscover gaming until my 20s and saw people playing Doom and Civilization, the OG versions from the early 90s lol. I’ve gamed way more as an adult than as a kid.
Bartlaus@reddit
A lot. Commodore 64 and then Amiga.
SaltyDogBill@reddit
Summer 1985. The entire fucking summer.
KillerSwiller@reddit
We had an atari and later on an SNES. I was allowed 10 minutes per day to play during the schoolweek, 30 minutes on the weekends. Summertime though? I was told to get my ass outside or I'd have to do chores. Guess what I chose?
WanderingArtist_77@reddit
Not much. Between sports, theater, symphony, etc., I had little time for games from ages 8 to 19. I play them now, though.
Grand_Taste_8737@reddit
Played video games until I discovered girls.
UvitaLiving@reddit
Zero. Grew up on the golf course.
Bruin9098@reddit
Not as much as I would have liked.
F-Cloud@reddit
It's hard to say how much exactly. As a kid I had a pong game early on and the Atari 2600, plus regular visits to the arcade where I'd spend a couple hours at a time. I don't remember over-doing it though, even with the Atari at home. When I was in my mid-teens I got a Nintendo NES and Sega Master System. That's when I began putting in lengthy gaming sessions. I'd be up playing all night regularly, going to sleep at dawn.
tuna_safe_dolphin@reddit
Too much.
Eat_Your_Paisley@reddit
I didn’t play games then or now
philly-buck@reddit
Same.
Hartford0054@reddit
I'd go in phases. Some weekends I'd spend hours on screen. Then I'd get bored and go outside and play. Options were limited, so if you got bored, you couldn't just download a new game, so there were limitations built in. Only so much time you can play a handful of games. So I don't see there was much problem with screen times back then.
kindafunnylookin@reddit
Constantly. Got my first computer around age 10, and it was the main thing I did for fun for a large chunk of my childhood. I did go out riding bikes and doing other stuff too, but that computer was the most important thing.
Cool_Dark_Place@reddit
Quite a bit, but it seemed like outdoor activities usually took priority with me and my friends. Skating and riding bikes, exploring the woods, ect., were usually the preferred activities. Often times, we'd play video games if the weather was bad, or someone had just gotten a new game or system they wanted to show off. Also, there was a much more in person social aspect to gaming back then, as online multiplayer wasn't really a thing yet. I'd almost say that gaming today vs. the '80s is almost an "apples to oranges" comparison, as the nature of gaming is so vastly different today.
iamrava@reddit
i built my first computer in 1983, and started writing basic at that point.
since then its just escalated and i’ve been pretty much self employed in the world of hardware and software my entire life because of computers and gaming.
hva5hiaa@reddit
Middle school into high school, I was on an Apple II+ nearly every day. By my late teens, that computer was a little long in the tooth, and I did arcades 'mostly frequently' since I had a part time job; but I really didn't have a personal computer until after college. (I did steal time on friend's computers though).
Helenesdottir@reddit
Maybe a couple of hours a week from 80-84. After that I was too busy with life.Â
FitInterview5102@reddit
On the console few hours before bedtime in the evenings; after homework. Pretty much all of Saturday especially in the winter.
SumoHeadbutt@reddit
Atari 2600, NES allot!!
PC, not so much
Hctc666@reddit
only slightly more than zero
EnergyCreature@reddit
80's for me would be the arcade 99% of the time. I did not play on consoles til my friends got them in the 90's and that was mostly for Street Fighter II when it came to home units.
I got into MUDs in '86 but that was 1x a week when I would visit college campuses and libraries that gave you online gaming time.
Screen time was beginning to be a thing but the big one for my friends was PHONE time. Since if you played online you use phone lines and the family would want you off of it at certain times.