The delay between the sacrifice and the gratification (and the corresponding neurochemical responses) in real life is often on the order of years or even decades.
In video games the delay is often on the order of minutes or hours.
The real world cannot compete with video games in the same way that milkshakes cannot compete with broccoli.
Something that I've been thinking a lot about lately is the idea that due to the way humans evolved, we've spent most of the ~100k years of our species existence in an environment we evolved to be adapted to. Humans have spent most of our history as hunter-gatherers, and only in the last 6k years or so have we had civilization and only in the last 100 years have we invented abnormally pleasurable experiences (crack cocaine, Doritos, World of Warcraft, etc).
Milkshakes cannot compete with broccoli because milkshakes are far beyond the tastiness of anything we would have found in the savannas of Africa. But so my wonderance is - would life 70k years ago be as fulfilling and enjoyable as World of Warcraft, since that was the environment we were adapted to do well in?
Modern schools ask children to sit still for hours and do mental work. The savannas had us outside all the time, living with close family and friends, exercising a lot, etc.
I'm not trying to romanticize living in the jungle, just makes me wonder how our ancestors felt day to day.
> The delay between the sacrifice and the gratification ... in real life is often on the order of years or even decades.
> In video games the delay is often on the order of minutes or hours.
Regarding the education component of the original comment, there can be just as much immediate gratification in education as there can be in games (note that the topic here is gratification, not how long it takes to really learn some topic). E.g. solving a problem that takes a minute to solve - whether there's the intrinsic gratification, or some sort of gamified element like getting points that will work towards you leveling up in some sort of scheme.
the world is way more random than video games. in general most games reward effort with a small set of known outcomes, and for online RPGs and the like, the more effort (time) spent, the more rewards one can get.
in real life you could spend your entire life dedicated to a single craft and fall short for reasons outside of your control.
I average maybe a milk shake a month, but broccoli multiple times a week. And I'm on the "eat whatever the hell I want at all times" diet. Broccoli out-competes milkshakes for me. If I had to give up one or the other, I'd give up milkshakes.
Don't get me wrong, the sugar in a milkshake is delicious, but it's just not hearty and fulfilling like a good meal can be. Of course, this is well after I started cutting back on sugary drinks during meal times. Not for health reasons mind you - I realized it was messing with my appetite, which in turn was limiting my ability to fully enjoy the rest of my meal. That it's healthier for me is a nice bonus.
As I've gotten older, my sweet tooth has diminished considerably. Many milkshakes are cloying to me now. I would much prefer broccoli stir fried with some meat in a savory, spicy sauce.
In video games the delay is often on the order of minutes or hours.
The real world cannot compete with video games in the same way that milkshakes cannot compete with broccoli.