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Are you ashamed of being a gamer/nerd in public?

B

Booker.DeWitt

Member
Hey guys,

finally I was upgraded to "member" status and I am now able to make threads!!

Anyway, I wanted to talk about this for a while.
I am 32 years old (33 in 3 days), married, have one son, my own place to live, and have a good job and salary.

I went to preorder the retro classic amiibo at gamestop few weeks ago. It was as saturday AM. I woke up earlier, put my NES controller shirt on, and went to the store. I was there earlier, playing my SSB 3ds with some other people in line.

We did get a weird look from some people passing by. I could tell they did not like what we were doing, maybe thinking we are "losers".

I really don't care what people think of me, and I still wear game/comic book gear on my days off. But there was one shy guy in line that really got ashamed.
I really hate when people try to put us down because of our preferences.

Do you guys suffer any discrimination regarding that? Does it bother you?


edit 1: response to the man-child post.

I understand your concerns, but my field of work is different, and they always ask about hobbies during interviews.

I did not tell my profession because I don't like to tell unless asked, but I am a physician MD- specialist, so I really don't care if they will think I am a man-child for wearing video-game shirts or showing up to pre-order games.

I've been doing that for years, and that has worked in my favor in a sense that I should pursue what I enjoy. When I was younger and living with my parents, yes, it used to bother me, but now that I am thankfully successful on what I do and I have a lot of good feedback regarding my performance, I really don't care what people think of a doctor wearing videogame shirts on his day off.



Edit 2: the reason I created this thread is just to know your opinions. I don't really care about what people think if me, but it bothers me when they judge people like us because I know some people are not as strong minded and can really get down. My brother is one example, he likes to game but is very shy and he always feels bad when people look at him disproving his actions.
 
I

Ikuu

Had his dog run over by Blizzard's CEO
I don't think there's anything wrong with waiting in line to buy your son a toy.
 
M

maxcriden

Member
I think my family members find my continued interest in video games juvenile, for the most part. Cute, at best.

I don't talk about video games with my co-workers, except the occasional iOS game.

I'm lucky in that my wife and cat really enjoy video games. My best male friend is not into games but respects my interest in them, we mostly have overlapping interests in movies and TV.

I don't wear any gaming shirts but I don't really wear any shirts with logos on them.

I do get the sense that most adults I interact with (apart from those here on GAF) do not think much of video gaming.
 
N

NoblesseOblige

Banned
I don't think I really present myself as a 'gamer/nerd' in public, but that's because I like to dress in business attire and generally don't talk about things that disinterest those around me.
 
K

komplanen

Member
I like video games but I am not a gamer just like I like some tracks of the bad Insane Clown Posse but I am not a Juggalo.
 
B

Booker.DeWitt

Member
Ikuu said:
I don't think there's anything wrong with waiting in line to buy your son a toy.
Click to expand...

i-understood-that-reference.gif
 
S

SaveTheQueen

Banned
Hell no. Only 26 now, married though and working. Majority of my clothing that I wear when I'm outside consist of video game and anime t-shirts :D Ain't nobody got time to hide who you are.
 
pants

pants

Member
only small, unsatisfied, repressed, miserable people will judge you for being a gamer and or any non harmful hobby. I just feel a small wave of pity and move on, not worth my time.
 
stufte

stufte

Member
Pro Tip: Don't give a fuck what random people in public think about you and wear whatever the fuck you want.
 
G

Glass Shark

Banned
Playing video games is pretty normal. So is liking comic books and superheroes. There's really nothing to be ashamed at, people wait in line for the latest Madden or Call of Duty and no one really bats an eye.
 
M

MadSexual

Member
A little bit, but just because I still don't see it as something to be proud of. There's nothing to take ownership or satisfaction from when identifying as a gamer. I feel very much the same way with people who want to talk about what TV shows they are watching. Like, I don't care. If you want to discuss games or TV as an aesthetic medium, that can be cool. I don't care what you're excited about or what you did though. So yeah, I suppress conversations like that and don't like being labeled as a person who shares that hobby.
 
N

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
Some times when my coworkers ask "what did you do this weekend?" and all I did was play warframe for 32 hours I actually just say "eat good food, watched stuff on netflix and hung out with friends"

It's not that I'm ashamed it's that I don't wanna deal with the "what's that?" type of questions.
 
S

Sober

Member
I've toned it down from what very little I already did advertise about it before. Mostly because it's not really a big part of my identity anymore (and IMO I think that people taking on that specific identity so strongly is problematic).

I don't need to slather myself in t-shirts and belt buckles or other trinkets to prove I'm a nerd or gamer.
 
T

Tigress

Member
No way! I just bought an NCR (fallout) hoodie so I can proudly show my Fallout fandom :). (Ok, so I mostly just like letting everyone know I'm a Fallout fan, heh).

I enjoy gaming as a hobby. I like other people knowing. More chances of meeting other people who enjoy the same hobby. People who would actually bother to ridicule me over it I have no interest in so who cares? And if you're worried about Gamergate's portrayel, how are you going to let people know not all gamers are those people if you don't make an example yourself?
 
P

Polip Fawn

Banned
Gamer and Nerd have not been a thing since the early 90's it's almost exclusively if you're a grown man buying Nintendo products now.
 
Sealtest

Sealtest

Member
Not really, But I do have problems playing my 3DS or Vita in public but that's mostly because of my fear of it either being stolen out of my hands or someone just walking up and breaking it.

I'm paranoid.
 
V

Vecks

Member
maxcriden said:
I think my family members find my continued interest in video games juvenile, for the most part. Cute, at best.

I don't talk about video games with my co-workers, except the occasional iOS game.

I'm lucky in that my wife and cat really enjoy video games. My best male friend is not into games but respects my interest in them, we mostly have overlapping interests in movies and TV.

I don't wear any gaming shirts but I don't really wear any shirts with logos on them.

I do get the sense that most adults I interact with (apart from those here on GAF) do not think much of video gaming.
Click to expand...

Now I'm curious. Exactly what kind of video games does your cat play?
 
S

Sophia

Member
Not ashamed of it at all. I fully embrace video games as a hobby, and nobody gives me issues over it.

But I don't go around doing things like say.... wearing gaming themed clothing or anything. So there's that.
 
B

Bringer Of Bacon

Member
Yes

I am ashamed of gamer culture in general and as such being associated with it. I love games and go to pax every year, but can't be bothered to wear the XXXL sized jrpg shirts or cosplay
 
M

Mister_Ruck

Member
I guess so? I don't own any game shirts and I never bring my handhelds out with me. When people ask me about my hobbies gaming is usually the last thing I want to mention.
 
Mr_L

Mr_L

Member
Display however much of that part of your identity as you want. It's really not up to other people to decide that that's unacceptable, and I don't see why being someone who's into video game-related stuff would be.

Personally, I see no point in hiding it aggressively just as much as I see no point in shouting about it from the rooftops. Your interpretation may ultimately be different.

This was a roundabout way of answering your question, but no, I'm not ashamed.
 
N

Nesther

Member
Nah, especially if everything else in your life (job, family, social life) is in check. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I shamelessly whip out my poptart 3DSXL in public, because it's so stylish.
 
Bartholomuse

Bartholomuse

Member
Their opinion of your hobby doesn't effect your enjoyment of said hobby. They're literally looking for something to be negative towards. There's no other reason to try and dump on someone like that. Ignore them and game on.

Personally, when i get carted off to the nursing home I'm gonna bring Goldeneye and an N64 with me, it'll be wild I tell ya, wild!
 
E

EvB

Member
I'm increasingly becoming more and more cautious about identifying myself as a gamer. Gaming culture is becoming increasingly dark and crazy.
 
M

Mr-Joker

Banned
Nope, I like what I like and am not ashamed to hide it.

I don't hang around with people who waste no time in bringing other people down.
 
S

SmackAttack

Member
Nope. Be proud of the hobby you enjoy and don't care about those who can't see why it's fun or think something of you because of it. Video games are bigger now than ever, if someone thinks it's nerdy or whatever at this point, that's more on them than you.
 
S

ScatheZombie

Member
Booker.DeWitt said:
I went to preorder the retro classic amiibo at gamestop few weeks ago. It was as saturday AM. I woke up earlier, put my NES controller shirt on, and went to the store. I was there earlier, playing my SSB 3ds with some other people in line.

We did get a weird look from some people passing by. I could tell they did not like what we were doing, maybe thinking we are "losers".
Click to expand...

So, you're admittedly a man-child standing outside the game store waiting for it to open on a weekend morning wearing a video game shirt while playing a handheld.

Dude, I'm a game developer and hardcore gamer and I would have given you a weird look. People who project their hobby that much are generally a little too obsessed with it.

To be fair, I'd give the same look to hipster chick with oversized glasses wearing an "I love my cat" shirt, knitting a cat-sweater while sitting in handmade rocking chair outside of a yet-to-open Hobby Lobby.
 
F

Finale Fireworker

Member
No. But I also don't wear it on my sleeve. I don't "identify" as a gamer.

But more than anything, I hate when non-gamers ask me what my Vita is.

"What kind of phone is that?"

"What kind of phone do you have?"

"Did you get a new phone?"

Then having to find the shortest assembly of words to simply explain what a Vita is to somebody who doesn't really care and will struggle to understand it.

EDIT: People keep replying to this as if I don't know how to explain it. I do. That's not the point I was making. My irritation comes from the frequency of the misunderstanding and the regularity people ask.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
I really don't define myself by my hobbies.

I also like cooking, photography, reading, and working out. But they don't define me as a person, nor should they define you.

I just don't think about it that hard. It's just games.

So wear your shirts. Life is too damn short to worry about what strangers think.

I remember playing my GBA Micro in the Subway and a stranger thought it was cool and asked me where he could buy one.
 
C

Coda

Member
That's why I always liked wearing classy/non-obvious gaming shirts. But yeah like most people are saying here, life is too short to be worried about what others think of you. Just be you and be happy.
 
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