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[Heimdall_Xtreme]

The idea isn't that video games make you worse, the idea is that you could be even better without them.

In fact it is a balance of everything Also videogames have helped me in different ways.

 

[kalecsan]

Yeah, and they were right. Maybe not theater and radio, but certainly with TV and movies.

And now you can add video games to the list. But video games are more insidious than all of those put together because of the time it takes.

Sure buddy, you are going to be a better person just by not consuming all art media forms.
I expect you to be in da farm all day working the crops.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Steven Kent’s “Ultimate History of Video Games” points out that video games are easily associated with children. It is easy to write it off and without proper knowledge, the general public does this without batting an eye. I personally don’t think people respect games. A lot of this is exposure. It would be ok if a grown adult reads a book, watches a movie, or listens to an album. If they decide to play a video game, it’s seen as the childish thing to do or people compare them to basement dwellers (recluses).

I also think you have people who believe this, work in the industry. People want to make money. I’m reading “Console Wars” by Blake Harris and something stood out to me. Sega stood out by not having a target consumer, while Nintendo mostly geared towards children. I feel like Nintendo has changed that by the appeal of the Wii and the Switch in their marketing. When someone commits a crime or uses gaming as association of their behavior, the general public starts to assume gaming is part of the problem.

Recently my wife’s boss asked her “so do you allow your husband to play video games?”. She asked this because her boyfriend just started showing interest in playing. I feel like my next point of view is going to sound bad, but I feel like there’s a lot of spouses out there that force an anti gaming household. They want their spouse to not play video games. This adds up if you’re only associated with people like this just because they’re your spouses friends. People don’t respect video games because they decide they don’t want to care about it. It’s just something their kids do.

Games at their heart are aimed at kids. It's what children do as much as possible growing up. Playing games. So if adults want to too, it's kiddie like.

But the image doesn't have to be. Chess is a game. But nobody associates people playing chess like immature brats. It's a game for adults and brainers even though 5 years olds can learn to play it too.

The bad image comes from a number of things IMO:

1. Gamers sitting at home staring at a TV (anti-social)
2. Gamers being loud and annoying (anti-social)
3. Gamers usually starting off as kids and begging parents for games and systems (bratty kids)
4. Gamers liking quirky games, weird anime/hentei shit, and playing games that look like they're meant for 8 year olds (odd behaviour)
5. The games industry doesnt help with goofy chidish ads either, but they make cheesy trailers and childish TV ads because that's who they are targeting.... gamers with kiddie attitudes

 

[StreetsofBeige]

It's because it's an activity that is completely useless that makes you sit on your ass, get out of shape and develop anti-social tendencies and addictive behaviors, and you end up with nothing in return for your time spent.

True. I forgot to write that above.

Games are different than books or TV shows. You spend a lot of time interacting and pretending to be a character or athlete etc... And the better your skills, the better you are at beating the game.

So for many people who rag on gamers (just like mom and dad did to us growing up playing NES and Genesis), if you got so much time on your hands spending money being good at video games, why not go out and play sports or do activities where you can use your god like reflexes or do artwork etc...?

They got a point. I never had a good comeback answer.

 

[Fare thee well]

'Stop reading those books all day, you'll rot your brain.'

....

'Get off the computer and read some books, you'll rot your brain.'

 

[TLZ]

I think it is a stigma of today's society.

Like everything in life, addiction is bad, but it is a healthy hobby.

It is easy to blame video games, cinema or any other medium for human behavior.

I am a gamer, but I also dedicate my life to other things such as seeing the world, philosophizing, traveling, learn the world.

Have video games hurt me?

No, because I exercise daily, I am slim, I am surrounded by people.

I can say that I am a professional with a specialty, that I get to advance in life and even in my country they named me Hero Covid, because I risked my life to heal patients and stay with the patients at the time when the pandemic began.

So, video games hurt? If that were true, my destiny and my life would be totally different.

Champion.

 

[StateofMajora]

When I was growing up, gamers were bad and played games because we were nerds, weren’t cool or whatever and couldn’t talk to people.

Then gamers were bad because of all the dorito mt dew swilling online gamers screaming into the microphone…

But do gamers really get looked down on now? I don’t think so. Maybe by the older generations. The fact is, my generation has grown up and we are the new workers… as well as the fact that so many developers are making games for non gamers that feel like a movie more than a game. Damn near everyone plays games now. It’s “inclusive”, not that that’s a good thing…

As a gamer I still cringe at those with shitty gamer or anime tattoos and look like they haven’t showered in a week… but it’s not because they play games lol.

 

[Bragr]

'Stop reading those books all day, you'll rot your brain.'

....

'Get off the computer and read some books, you'll rot your brain.'

Both are true, ask any prolific reader about how much they truly get out of reading, and any truthful person will say it's little.

It's just that books have the best narratives across the board, so the stories mean more to you personally.

Of course, it's different with books about topics and learning, but even then you have to make an effort to remember any of it, and there is a point where reading becomes too much a timesink and will hurt you in other areas.

 

[daywarf]

We play games for fun, but some people mock other people's hobbies on the Internet for fun

 

[Bragr]

Sure buddy, you are going to be a better person just by not consuming all art media forms.
I expect you to be in da farm all day working the crops.

You are putting it on the edge, I'm not saying all media for all time, but a person who grows up in an environment where they work a lot as teenagers and spend time out with other people is gonna grow more healthy mentally and physically.

It's a known issue these days that kids struggle more to enter work life than before the mass integration of media technology. And a lot of them end up completely out of the loop because of it far into their 20's.

 

[Bragr]

In fact it is a balance of everything Also videogames have helped me in different ways.

Yeah, but other things could have helped you too. Video games help me relax and take my mind off things, but there are far better ways to relax that don't take with it all the negatives of sitting still for hours every day and getting programmed to live like that.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Well, have you seen this forum?

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Yeah, but other things could have helped you too. Video games help me relax and take my mind off things, but there are far better ways to relax that don't take with it all the negatives of sitting still for hours every day and getting programmed to live like that.

In life, improvement is always continuous and you never stop learning.

So it is not that it is a late moment, it does not depend much on the video game, but on the same person who improves what aspect of his life.

For the meantime, I am satisfied with the directions I have taken.

 

[AJUMP23]

Rocking a rhyme right on time is tricky.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

I will never understand why gaming still has a stigma.

People will sit in front of a TV and binge watch stuff like Netflix but give you crap because your doing the same thing but with a controller in your hand lol

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

I will never understand why gaming still has a stigma.

People will sit in front of a TV and binge watch stuff like Netflix but give you crap because your doing the same thing but with a controller in your hand lol

because they basically think that gamer are "adults with children's minds"

 

[LaughingStock]

I think many adults over 30 think games are still the same thing it was when they were kids. They think atari, platformers like Mario or sonic. When they see a grown-up adult talking about video games that's what they imagine.
I have coworkers who make fun of me for playing video games but they love shit like superhero movies, harry potter, star wars.

 

[Woggleman]

I am lucky my parents never thought of games like that. I even got my mom addicted to Arkanoid back in the day. I got her the controller and everything. I showed her the stories in some modern games and she thinks hollywood can learn a thing or two from them.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I think many adults over 30 think games are still the same thing it was when they were kids. They think atari, platformers like Mario or sonic. When they see a grown-up adult talking about video games that's what they imagine.
I have coworkers who make fun of me for playing video games but they love shit like superhero movies, harry potter, star wars.

At my old work back in the 2000s when Harry Potter got big, one coworker in a different office used to have the whole family do dress up Harry Potter parties. She was almost 50 years old.

Give her credit, she had confidence telling everyone she loved the stories and sending all of us pics of her in a purple dress holding a wand.

 

[Excess]

The only people who hate gamers are game journalists.

 

[BossLackey]

Who doesn't get a bad rep?

Pretty much. Most groups have negative association for the general public because of a small minority.

 

[Tschumi]

Unpopular opinion maybe, but I reckon it might be because at the dawn of the 2010s wider society thought gamers were kinda livingroom loners/online socialites, then various scandals kinda revealed that a small but vocal portion of us (random guess) are easily indoctrinated and prone to getting nasty once we've hitched ourselves to one stark, extreme position or other.

(should make it clear that i don't think gamers are the only social group with these tendencies atm)

 

[Days like these...]

Because self identified gamers are insufferable and the scum of the earth. I say this as someone who's played video games since the 2600

 

[Catphish]

Everything in life is a trade off. Do one thing, miss out on another.

You pay for what you get. No exceptions.

Have fun, hurt no one. Enjoy the ride til you die.

That's it. That's all.

 

[recursive]

Because of gaming journalists that have never seen poon. Also blue danger haired theys that have also not seen poon.

 

[Halo is Back]

Because self identified gamers are insufferable and the scum of the earth. I say this as someone who's played video games since the 2600

I'm a self-identified gamer. What a hilarious and cringe-hot take.

 

[Sidney Prescott]

I think the funniest thing to me is when people say video games are a waste of time and then they go and bingewatch the newest show. It's pretty much the same thing.

I do both, but it's just interesting how one seems to be more accepted than the other.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It's a male oriented hobby (men = earners) that doesn't produce anything and hogs waaaaay more attention than other unfruitful hobbies.

 

[Black_Stride]

Is this a hypothetical question or do gamers really have a bad reputation in the world.

Cuz basically since the whole Mass Effect sex scene scandal I havent really heard much negative press about videogames and gamers.
If anything it seems the world is starting to really embrace gamers even more.
I hear more positive stories about gaming and gamers than I hear negative stuff.
Hell at the Mercedes reveal they were so hype to talk about how they tested and designed their car in a game engine.


If you mean on the internet....then just remember the internet loves and hates everything....if you want to find a community that agrees with your opinion....its easy work.
Just look at GAF, we have staunch members of SonyGAF and GreenratGAF....that really doesnt make sense in the grand scheme....why would any "gamer" want there to be fewer gaming experiences?

 

[Zannegan]

Eh, I don't agree with the premise of this thread. Gaming is so widespread that it's pretty much an accepted form of entertianment for all ages in my experience. No one is shunning a coworker for picking up a PS5 and a lot of watercooler conversations these days revolve around games.

Being too into gaming as an adult will get you some looks, sure, but that's true of pretty much any non-productive hobby. Crazy sports fans as you say, film nerds, extensive readers, rabid fans of that one band, model train enthusiasts, hobby farmers--anyone that devotes so much of their life to a hobby that it becomes part of their identity is going to become a pathetic figure of fun for most "normies." It's the small price you pay for escapism, and it's purely social (and avoidable, if you know how to avoid oversharing about your hobby).

TL;DR: Brush that chip off your shoulder and just enjoy your hobby. You'll be happier for it.

 

[BigBooper]

It's been a long, long, winding road. Gamers used to be all ultra nerds. Then they were rebels. Then they were screechers. Now, it seems to be as normal as any passive hobby to me. I really miss the ultra nerd days, honestly.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

The idea isn't that video games make you worse, the idea is that you could be even better without them.

In that case we need to make a proper distinction between gaming as a past time activity and gaming as an addiction that takes up all your free time. If I dont game then i would watch more youtube, tv, maybe read a book but it doesn't mean i read Shakespeare just because i read books. What im trying to say is...."reading books is better than playing games" doesnt really count unless those books are deep literature.

 

[Nickolaidas]

It's because it's an activity that is completely useless that makes you sit on your ass, get out of shape and develop anti-social tendencies and addictive behaviors, and you end up with nothing in return for your time spent.

Both are bad. The advent of streaming TV services is an issue too. People are getting more and more attached to cheap fun. I am too, it's never going away, but I'm not gonna pretend it's not making people weaker, more susceptible to marketing, and more likely to never get anywhere in life and not really understanding why until they look back and notice that they don't give a shit about 99% of the games and TV shows they watched.

Then you will get a better picture of how entertainment marketing affected you since you were a kid and got hooked on it, and how much time you really spent on this shit.

I agree 100%. I was anti-social, and gaming made it worse. I don't look like Francis or Jim Sterling but I am not particularly fit, either.

I don't know if gaming is to blame for what I have become, but it *has* a fair share of blame for removing incentives for me to become better.

I go to work, go to shop at the super market, will help out a friend or relative with something if I can, but when I have personal time, it almost always ends up going to gaming, nothing else.

 

[balls of snow]

It's because it's an activity that is completely useless that makes you sit on your ass, get out of shape and develop anti-social tendencies and addictive behaviors, and you end up with nothing in return for your time spent.

So is reading YA novels.

 

[DelireMan7]

It's because of guys like these

The world thinks that's what we all look/act like.

I somehow need the source of this gif. I want the full experience with audio.
Anyone ?

 

[Days like these...]

I'm a self-identified gamer. What a hilarious and cringe-hot take.

I'll never understand letting your identity be consumed by a thing. You all don't "own" gaming.

 

[Woggleman]

I hate to say it but a lot of nerdy kind of things attract a certain kind of gamer gate type of crowd that just puts people off.

That whole episode really put gamers in a bad light even if many people enjoy games without being anything like that.

 

[Halo is Back]

I'll never understand letting your identity be consumed by a thing. You all don't "own" gaming.

Who the fuck says gaming "owns" me? Lmao, it's my favorite hobby. I have responsibilities, but at the end of the day, gaming is a great stress reliever and a super enjoyable hobby that I have immensely enjoyed since my childhood playing on the SNES and PC. I have always played games and I will continue to do so because I'm a gamer who cares about this entertainment/artistic medium.

 

[Days like these...]

Who the fuck says gaming "owns" me? Lmao, it's my favorite hobby. I have responsibilities, but at the end of the day, gaming is a great stress reliever and a super enjoyable hobby that I have immensely enjoyed since my childhood playing on the SNES and PC. I have always played games and I will continue to do so because I'm a gamer who cares about this entertainment/artistic medium.

I've always played games too I'm sure long before you were playing games. I'll never be a "gamer". Gaming doesn't belong to "gamers" you all dont't own it, doesn't matter that you all are self professed "gamers"

 

[Halo is Back]

I've always played games too I'm sure long before you were playing games. I'll never be a "gamer". Gaming doesn't belong to "gamers".

Talks shit about people who identify as "gamers" then proceeds to flex about gaming on the Atari 2600. Thanks for providing the laughs buddy. Who is gatekeeping and being the elitist asshole again?

 

[Days like these...]

Talks shit about people who identify as "gamers" then proceeds to flex about gaming on the Atari 2600. Thanks for providing the laughs buddy.

Difference being I dont let my whole identity be consumed by a thing I do. Cope more.

 

[Spaceman292]

There seems to be an underlying sentiment from society that men who play video games are somehow worse than any other addiction related vices.

True. My brother is addicted to heroin, arson and illegal pornography and my parents like him a lot more.

 

[Halo is Back]

Difference being I dont let my whole identity be consumed by a thing I do. Cope more.

I'm a gamer, deal with it. No need to cope buddy, I'm playing New vegas and enjoying the hell out of it rn. But please, keep being an elitist gatekeep, you are providing great entertainment.

 

[Toots]

I came to post this

I came to this post

 

[GymWolf]

I just lied about being a gamer to my local kebab place so i get the good wrap instead.

 

[Halo is Back]

True. My brother is addicted to heroin, arson and illegal pornography and my parents like him a lot more.

You are filthy gaming scum. Your whole family should be ashamed. At least my brother is a respectable drug addict who also does porn on the side to feed his heroin addiction. Now he is going places.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

You mean a bad rap, OP

You mean a bad rep.
Reputation
/rɛpjʊˈteɪʃ(ə)n/

 

[NikuNashi]

Gamers today never had it so good. Playing video games is socially accepted now as a 'normal' activity.

Take that from a guy who did the hard miles back in the 80s. We broke down the boundaries and wore down the naysayers, we walked into Mordor. And we did it so kids today can play games and be cool!

This, if anyone thinks it's bad now, back in the day it was practically an underground club. No mainstream press, no videogame chain stores, scorn from family and friends who could not understand why a teenager wouldn't grow up and stop playing those childish games. Shits changed a lot.

 

[Drew1440]

Because video games appeal to the male fantasy

 

[Beer Baelly]

I read Germans