Is chess a waste of time?

Hmm. 

Most people enjoy chess as a recreation. Before the internet came along, chess required some social interaction.

Recreation and social interaction are good things.

"Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer” - Einstein

lets all quote different people and not think for ourselves.  what a wonderful world

There are worse things than chess. You won't believe it but some people like to lift very heavy things without any reason whatsoever. Just for the heck of it. There are even special places for this called gyms. There are also people who like to run even when nobody is chasing them.

Go figure.

Paul Morphy once said: "The ability to play chess is the sign of a gentleman. The ability to play chess well is the sign of a wasted life." I bet Fischer felt this way after becoming world champion.  There was so much he could have done for chess, and could have made so much money and good will for all.  What a waste.

there are thousends ways how to waste your life...

anyway if you like it i wouldent say that it was wasting.. life is about being happy so if chess makes you happy then play it if not then no.. how simple...

Nope

Of all possible things, like a small gang of grown men chasing a ball for 90 min and getting payed for it or grown men pumping up their muscle so they can pose in fron of other men, talking about working out to improve once body in a time of obesety "pandemic" as a waste of time is kinda lame. Specially comparing to a board game with questionable instrumental value.

No, because I get to sleep while I'm playing chess!

That's an interesting theory.

     1: It's doubtful Morphy ever said that. He certainly thought chess was no fit profession for a gentleman and disliked having people think of him as a chess player rather than a lawyer, refusing to play serious chess once he passed the bar, but he did continue to play (with N or R + move odds) with a couple of friends.

     2. Fischer had some psychological difficulties that probably led to him being obsessed with chess. Also, he on more than one occasion indicated that for him the best part of chess was crushing and humiliating the opponent. World-class chess GM and psychologist Reuben Fine predicted before the Spassky match that if Fischer won he would never play again because if he lost the championship it would destroy his feeling of superiority. And he only became more "peculiar" as his life went on.

     So the thing to do is to play chess because you enjoy it and find it interesting. If you're spending a lot of time on the game and only becoming depressed and irritated that you are losing too much or not improving quickly enough, then you are wasting that time. Relax, have some fun, feel good on those (perhaps rare) well-played games. Everybody needs some recreation.

Whether Mr. Morphy said it or not, it’s reassuring to know i am a gentleman and will always remain a gentleman. 

No such thing as a wasted life you enjoyed.

I have my own version of this. "If you enjoyed the time you wasted then you didn't waste any time."