Seriously, I don’t get it. It’s just a thing people do. Sometimes to an extreme… but if you are a extreme sports fan or extreme traveler… that’s ‘cool’. Meanwhile your mild dorky video game habit makes you persona non grata if people find out or you talk about it in public.
It’s 2025. I don’t understand.
You may be hanging around the wrong people. I get the odd mild reaction from certain people when I mention videogames but usually because “girl gamer - does not compute…?” Most don’t care as long as we have other things to talk about.
I’ve never met anyone what was pro video game other than on the internet. Even people who do play games I know only do so on the DL because they know it is a social faux pas.
I mean… Those people you meet on the internet do exist outside your screen too. You just need to find them.
I went to PAX many years, only place ever met such people, but even then there many were board game only snobs. There are a lot of board game snobs in my city, but they generally hate video games for being ‘anti social’.
If nobody’s talking about their gaming, how would you ever know how many people game?
Be brave enough to be open about it, and you might be surprised how many people will join you.
I’ve met many, many more people that hate sports then people that hate video games.
People generally view constructive hobbies more favorably than consumptive ones. As long as gaming isn’t interfering with their responsibilities and relationships, I view it as just one of the ways people unwind in their spare time. I haven’t noticed strong negative reactions to gaming unless the gamer begins to neglect important parts of their life for it.
anytime i mention that i play games it illicits are very negative/suspicious reaction. but if i say i spend 10 hours riding my bike or reading or going to restaurants that’s seen as worthy and legit. i guess i don’t see any of those as more ‘constructive’ than any other activity.
Riding your bike is exercise, so I’ll give that one a pass as a healthier hobby. Reading just depends on what you’re reading I suppose. Going to restaurants is generally looked at as a bad habit in my experience. Waste of money basically.
Regarding what makes video games special, I will say that they can develop bad personal habits a little easier than a lot of other hobbies. I think they have greater addiction potential than say, reading or bike riding. More on par with sex or gambling. They also create a temptation to oversimplify/misunderstand things about real life in the same way tv/movies do.
But yeah, overall I don’t think its a particularly bad hobby if you don’t go overboard with them.
I don’t hate them, I just can’t play them. I get sucked into the world so completely I lose track of the local rules of physics, like I’ll actually feel smacking into a wall or feel the gravity shift when I move onscreen. Doesn’t happen when I watch shows bc that’s passive. I don’t have any strong feelings about other ppl playing them tho. Ppl can use any hobby to completely ignore irl if they’re so inclined, it’s not just video games
I can see maybe the parent of a child seeing games as unproductive.
But as an adult it’s a good way to unwind like listening to good music or watching a movie. As long as it’s only for a few hours though, as games can go on and on and on. Some people over do it, and some people have even died from lack of food or breaks.
I really enjoy games, buy them whenever I see them at the thrift stores if I don’t already have the game. Now I have many thousands of games, and no worry about the game companies taking them away from me because these are physical.
why do people hate <popular thing> ?
I hate online PvP FPS games, and I know it’s a 100% skill issue. I like to think that the same logic also applies to those who hate all games.
that’s the other thing. hating video games is like saying you hate books, or anything on a screen.
it’s a medium with tons of genres and game play types that are often radically different. plus the ‘haters’ often do like games like guitar hero or dave and busters stuff or phone games. i guess because it’s ‘normal’, but apparnetly playing mario on a switch isn’t.
And then there are also point and click adventure games and even visual novels. Who hates those?
What about people who say that they’re gamers but only have FIFA
