Why do non gamers bash gamers?

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by Civ001, May 31, 2013.

  1. Civ001

    Civ001 Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    I have noticed that there seems to be some kind of pity on people who play video games. People who don't play video games would often look down on those who do play video games and just see what we do as "pointless" or a "waste" of time. Why is there so much hatred on those who play video games? Why do non gamers look down on us and feel bad for us? Why do non gamers say so many mean things about gaming? I never see people hate on those who are obsessive about watching sports, or doing Fantasy Football, or reading.
     
  2. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Because they are jealous that gamers have said fuck you to the boring real world and are now riding on mythical beasts over mythical lands of myth and slaying stuff.
     
  3. Sephiroth

    Sephiroth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Because of social misconceptions that gamers are all shut-in nerds who haven't seen the light of day since moving into their parents basement. That's called a stereotype mixed with social stigma. Thank you for that L.A.R.P.-ers.
     
  4. Rincewiend

    Rincewiend Admiral Admiral

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    The same can be said about readers...
    The amount of weird looks i have gotten over the years when i said i read a lot...
    Same as when i say i still play videogames at my age..
    And i'm 39...
     
  5. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    What are you talking about, Larping involves running around outside on fields.
     
  6. Vulcan Logician

    Vulcan Logician Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Because the universe is challenging gamers with social stigmatism to make them become more awesome, creative, and enlightened.
     
  7. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    You mean the universe only wants them to level up?
     
  8. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    This type of behaviour isn't just limited to gamers vs non-gamers. You'll find it everywhere, Sci_fi sometimes has a stigma attached to it, as in why to you watch that fantasy stuff? Yet they'll happy watch something equally made-up (saying that most TV at it's basic level no matter the genre is about a writter making up stuff).

    I suspect the same is also true for people who don't watch a certain certain vs people who watch that certain sport.
     
  9. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Actually all my years in Azeroth WERE "pointless" and a "waste of time".

    Sometimes I try and wring out a little regret about it.
     
  10. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    In the 80s and 90s, video games were considered by most people to be little more than electronic toys intended for children and teens, and just like other toys it was expected that we would grow out of them by our 20s. Instead, the video game industry expanded and started making games aimed at adults. Cartoon sprites like Mario and Sonic evolved into photo-realistic characters with personalities that you can form an emotional connection with. Pixelated fantasy worlds evolved into highly immersive 3D environments with incredible levels of detail. Short and silly text dumps evolved into interesting stories that can engross the player just as well as a TV show. Video games still have a ways to go before they can claim to be as mature as some other forms of popular media, but they've long since stopped being toys intended for children.

    But to those who don't follow video games, many still view them as toys that we should grow out of, and the fact that we didn't suggests to them that we're immature man-children. (No offence ladies, but the preconception of most people is that gamers are male.)
     
  11. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    ^Pretty much the same thing happened with Rock & Roll back in the 50's and 60's. It may be hard to appreciate now, but back then the music of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, The Everly Brother, Jerry Lee Lewis etc. etc. was for the most part considered to be music solely for young people. The expectation being that when the kids got older they'd leave that behind and start listening to grown up music just like mum and dad.
    However, just like with video games, it came as a bit of a shock when the next decade rolled around and the kids of the 50's became the adults of the 60's and didn't grow out of Rock and Roll but kept with it and the new generation of musicians that grew up with it, evolved the medium further into a much more mature art form.

    Video games are pretty much in the same place right now. Of course this brings with it the terrifying prospect that we have the video game equivalent of the disco era to look forward to, if indeed it's not already upon us. Either way, I'll be giving that a miss. ;)
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2013
  12. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't know what you guys are talking about. Non-gamers do not bash gamers. Gaming is as socially acceptable as watching films.
     
  13. JarodRussell

    JarodRussell Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think you can find conflicts like that everywhere.

    What, you watch TV?

    What, you don't watch TV? What are is your furniture aligned to?

    What, you don't like Star Wars?

    What, you don't like Shakespeare?

    What, you voted for Obama?

    What, you're on Trek BBS?
     
  14. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I think that era might be represented by Kinect dancing games.

    It depends on the age group, I think. People under 30 either grew up playing games or are friends with people who did, so it's just normal to us. But in wider society there appears to be a perception that gamers are a subset of nerdom, as opposed to there being a nerdy subset of gamedom (of which I admit I am a part).

    Anecdotally, there's a British comedy show called 10 O'Clock Live that talked a little bit about the Xbox One last week and one of the comedians on the show, Jimmy Carr, went for a rather lame joke referring to gamers as virgins. An odd choice considering the show appears to be targeted at 20-somethings, and the fact that one of the other comedians on the show, Charlie Brooker, is a famous video game fan that started his career as a game reviewer.
     
  15. AlphaMan

    AlphaMan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    What most non gamers don't realize is that they are probably gamers too. Who do you think is buying shit like Angry Birds and Candy Crush? Most people who refer to themselves as gamers probably wouldn't touch that stuff with a 10 foot pole.

    I don't really payu much attention to anyone who decides to look down on me for gaming. At the age of 41, I've decided that my generation was exposed to the first video games at a very early age and I've accepted that it is a way of modern life for me. For a good while there, I did think that I had outgrown it... but after watching my teenage son play Grand Theft Auto IV, I realized that this game was actually acted out by real professional actors.. which meant that there had to be a director... and that a lot of effort was put into this product to make it seem authentic. I've been an avid gamer ever since and I've actually grown to look down on mediocre forms of other media.
     
  16. Civ001

    Civ001 Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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  17. TheMasterOfOrion

    TheMasterOfOrion Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    1 ADDICTION
    Games these days are made to be extremely addictive, the scenarios, colors, noises in certain games all have an extremely psychologically addictive influence on the human brain. The games are now being designed to reward addiction not your play ability, you are rewarded with online experience points, rewards for the total time online and not your level of skill, some studies suggest games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft etc are as addictive as cigarettes or cocaine

    2 BODY HEALTH
    Sitting in one spot is very bad for people's bones, muscle, posture and circulation. People who sit in front of a screen generally are not eating properlyWe all spend too much time at the office or studying for the next exam so why spend free time sitting in front of the computer

    3 GEEKY NERDY PERSONALITY DISORDER
    Life stinks and the world sucks but so what? You still need to file your taxes, do your work, feed your neighbors pets when they went on vacation and get on with the general drudgery of everyday life. Gamers are sometimes just way too disconnected with reality, just as the ex-girlfriend of an obsessive gamer with all the BS they had to go through in their realtionship

    4 WASTE OF FINANCE , getting too far into the gaming world can lead to loss of ambition at work, serious debt cos some games are based on gambling like poker, other games take your credit card for the time you spend on their online networks and collecting games and consoles is an expensive hobby

    5 MENTAL HEALTH, a large percentage of people with very bad social mental problems are now coming from gamer backgrounds, you have crazy formals draw up by doctors (tech addiction from youth, with Tetris Effect + violent media content +/- psychotropic medication + deprivation of touch with nature = formula for disaster

    That said I'm a gamer myself
    I think games are fascinating, its an artform, entertaining and games have brilliant worlds where people play in a new progressive media
    but all nearly games come with a warning
    It says to play them only for 1-2 hours at maximum exposure, it warns you about this when you install the game or its in the playstation and xbox handbooks

    Like all things, the gaming entertainment industry should be taken in moderation
     
  18. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    ^and how many people actually read the manual?

    But gamingas with anything, it's all about moderation. I maybe play on my 360 for an 1-3 hours a week, except when I get a new game or I decide to have a bit of a session on a game. Sometimes I won't switch it on for weeks or even months.
     
  19. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Ugh, don't remind me. :(
     
  20. Civ001

    Civ001 Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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