"Smartphone Brain," Splatoon, and note: Why I stopped playing games and started writing
"Ah, I lost again... but let's play just one more match."
How many thousands of times have I repeated those words?
Over 6,300 hours in Splatoon 2 and 3. By simple calculation, that's
260 days, and if converted to an 8-hour workday, it amounts to about 2 years of labor time spent.
I, who spent that much time, have recently stopped playing Splatoon.
Instead, I've been spending more time reading and writing on note. Things like the daily life of an accountant, struggles with AI, and stories about improving work efficiency...
"Why did such a change happen?"
As I thought about it while drinking coffee, I realized that the content of a book called "Smartphone Brain," which was recommended in a comment on an article, strangely overlaps with the changes in my own behavior.
*I was told about related books and articles by Nekox-san.
Splatoon is not just a shooting game.
It is packed with mechanisms that stimulate the brain's reward system to the extreme.
Variable Ratio Rewards
Unlike RPGs where you defeat the final boss, highly competitive games have an uncertainty where "you can't predict what the next result will be."
Winning feels good, losing is frustrating... so I repeat "just one more match." This is the same mechanism as
SNS notifications explained in "Smartphone Brain."
Just as the curiosity of "What will the next notification be?" makes you check your smartphone repeatedly, the curiosity of "What will happen in the next match?" kept me glued to my chair.
Immediate Feedback
The moment you get a kill, the activation of a special, the moment you win.
These "achievements" are immediately displayed with numbers and effects. This makes the brain release tons of dopamine.
It has the exact same effect as the "likes" mentioned in "Smartphone Brain." The brain receives a reward saying, "Well done!"
Sense of Skill Improvement
Your growth is visualized through numerical values like XP and rank.
My peak XP in Splat Zones was 2600.
This leads to a sense of self-affirmation that "I am quite high up among all players."
It's the same as the "follower count" mentioned in "Smartphone Brain."
When the numbers go up, I feel like "I have value."
Social connection
Team coordination, "Nice!" during matches, and exchanging information on YouTube.
The feeling of "not being alone" enhances the gaming experience.
As "Smartphone Brain" points out, humans are social animals, so
we react strongly to these kinds of "connections."
...In the end, Splatoon wasa game that constantly exploits the brain's weaknessesafter all.
That's why I ended up playing for 6,300 hours.
But why did I quit Splatoon?
Even though it's such an "optimized pleasure device," why am I drifting away from Splatoon?
The stress of not being able to control the results
No matter how hard I try, sometimes the outcome is decided by the "teammate gacha" or luck.
(Truly skilled players keep winning regardless, so that's just an excuse...)
There were times I dropped from XP 2600 to 2200 in one go.
There are also days when I think "I'm on a roll today!" only to lose 10 matches in a row.
This "mismatch between effort and results" gradually became stressful.
The feeling of growth has plateaued
Once you get to a certain level of skill, it becomes difficult to overcome the next wall.
When I watch the gameplay of people better than me and think,
"How many thousands of hours would it take to get there..."
I suddenly started feeling exhausted.
It takes up too much time
One match is 3 to 5 minutes.
"Just one more game" is repeated over and over, and before I know it, 5 hours have passed.
And above all...
"Nothing remains after I finish playing the game"
Time was consumed, but nothing was built up.
This was the biggest problem.
The reason I got hooked on note
In the midst of all that, I started using note.
At first, I just wrote about my experience with work efficiency in the niche area of "AI x Accounting." But once I started writing, I found myself strangely absorbed in it.
Splatoon and note share a commonality in that they both stimulate the "brain's reward system."
Commonalities between Splatoon and note
Immediate feedback
Splatoon: Match result displays, Nintendo Online's SplatNet 3
note: Notifications for likes, comments, and magazine subscriptions
Social connection
Splatoon: Team play, friends
note: Interaction with readers, exchange between creators
Skill improvement
Splatoon: Rank increase, XP increase, gear collection
note: Improvement in writing ability, increase in followers
In other words, while the "mechanism for releasing dopamine" is the same for both,
there is a decisive difference.
The decisive difference: Whether or not it is "accumulated"
The biggest feature of note is that time and effort are accumulated.
Even after playing Splatoon for 6,300 hours, all that remains in my hands is
the skill of "being slightly good at Splatoon."
(Top players are all young. There is no way to compete with their reflexes.)
On the other hand, even after writing for just 45 days on note:
Articles as "works" remain
Writing skills improve (or perhaps "editing skills," since I write with AI)
Meeting new people
Knowledge is organized, and self-understanding deepens
It's also nice that age gaps don't feel like a barrier
In terms of "Smartphone Brain,"
this can be described as the difference between "immediate rewards" and "long-term rewards."
Splatoon offers "instant gratification," while
note has the characteristic of "gaining value over time."
My "perspective on the brain" has changed
Looking back, my behavioral change
might have been a shift in values regarding "what kind of rewards I prioritize."
"Ephemeral rewards" or "cumulative rewards"
"Smartphone Brain" warns that if you are swayed by immediate rewards like SNS notifications,
you become unable to engage in deep thinking or creative activities.
Splatoon is a typical "immediate reward."
Win -> Happy -> Play again, an infinite loop.
On the other hand, note is an activity where "writing is hard, but value remains after you've written."
Perhaps a value has sprouted within me that "cumulative rewards are more important than immediate rewards."
Why did this change happen?
Honestly, there are parts I don't understand. However, there are a few things that come to mind:
Age influence: Reaching my mid-40s, I became acutely aware of the "finiteness of time"
Saturation: My experience with Splatoon became completely saturated (it's 6,300 hours, after all)
Desire for growth: My desire for growth in my career and as a person has strengthened
Application to work: I realized that the knowledge and ideas gained from note can be applied to my work
I think age is a big factor, too. In my early 20s, "instant gratification" was perfectly fine. But now, I find myself thinking about "what will remain after this time."
Things to keep in mind
What's important here is that it's not that Splatoon is bad.
Splatoon is an incredibly fun game, and it's genuinely enjoyable when I play it occasionally. It also serves as a good way to take a break or refresh my mood.
Also, note is not necessarily "good" in every sense either. If you get caught up in the number of likes or views, you'll fall into the same trap as your Splatoon rank.
The important thing is to be conscious of "what you are choosing."
Whether you choose to "play Splatoon for an hour" or "write on note for an hour," both have value if they are decisions made by your own will.
The problem is the unconscious consumption of time where you realize, "Five hours have passed."
Summary: What kind of rewards do you choose?
After researching "Smartphone Brain" and reflecting on my own actions, I realized the importance of living a life that isn't swayed by the "brain's reward system."
Both Splatoon and note have similar mechanisms for working on the brain. Both provide a sense of "happiness" and "fun."
However, what lies beyond that is different.
Splatoon: Ephemeral pleasure → disappears as time passes
note: Accumulated value → increases as time passes
I am currently making the choice to use note. Of course, I think I will still play Splatoon occasionally. But my "consciousness" is different than it was before.
"What am I using my time for right now?"
Continuing to ask this question might be the way to protect oneself from the "brain weakening" that "Smartphone Brain" warns about.
How about you?
Now that you have finished reading this article, what kind of activities do you usually spend your time on?
Are they "instant reward" types, or are they "accumulated reward" types?
If you'd like, please let me know in the comments section. Or, try reflecting a little on how you use your smartphone or games.
And if this article provided even a small "aha!" moment, please hit the like button. (It might be interesting to be conscious of the mechanism that releases dopamine in your brain when you press like...)
Next time, I will write about "Accounting Efficiency: Mastering Spreadsheets Hand-in-Hand with AI." If you are interested, please follow me!
As a side note, while writing this article, I found myself thinking "I want to play Splatoon" three times without even realizing it. The power of habit is terrifying...😅
#Splatoon #note #SmartphoneBrain #GameAddiction #TimeManagement #Productivity #HabitFormation