Work, Play, Money and Meaning

Here at Richmond, I usually feel like I need to be doing something productive every second of every minute of every day.  I start to feel anxious if I take a break for too long or get stuck for ideas.  If I go to bed before 3:00AM or sleep in too late I feel guilty.  If I'm not doing schoolwork it better be because I'm in class, at a meeting, at work or doing community service.  There's never a moment when my work is finished so I feel the need to be perpetually working. 

This is exactly the type of overworked culture that Julian Dibbell challenges throughout Play Money.  He states that the Protestant Ethic helped create a material emphasis where efficiency is valued "as an end it itself" and we are encouraged "to acquire as much wealth as possible and enjoy it as little as possible" (61).  In a sense, we should work ourselves to death because it's the only thing that is viewed as worthwhile.

Perhaps that type of value set is why I was immediately disturbed when Dibbell started talking about not only playing a computer game incessantly but also investing money in it as if  it were actually a worthwhile pursuit.  The idea seemed completely ridiculous and extremely self-indulgent.  Indeed, Dibbell points out that we often view play as a distraction that wastes time that could be spent on more productive activities (58). 

Dibbel, however, seems to believe that when money can be earned through play it blurs the lines between play and work.  It turns play into a legitimate economic pursuit.  This blurring of the lines is the idea behind a piece of advice I've heard countless times; figure out what you love to do and find a way to get paid to do it.  As far as this idea extends to real world pursuits and creates happy citizens I think it's good advice.  But a computer game?  I'm still having trouble accepting that as a meaningful way to spend the majority of one's time.

I understand that the pursuit of online gaming has the possibility of becoming an economically lucrative undertaking.  But I can't escape the idea that working should be about more than just making money.  No matter how you spin it, an online game is essentially an individual activity.  There may be some kind of virtual interaction but there are no concrete consequences other than those tied to money.  For work to truly mean something and be worthy of my time, I want to know that it is not only enjoyable to me but also improves the lives of those around me.  I need to be creating a positive effect on the world around me.  Anything that is simply of benefit to me wouldn't be fulfilling enough.

In order to relieve the stress of our overworked culture I think it's necessary to value play and enjoyable activities more.  When play and work can be combined into meaningful pursuits that is also something to be valued.  However, spending the majority of one's time on an activity that is simple self-indulgence thinly veiled behind monetary pursuits is something that I can't take seriously.