Does gaming create social rejects?

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TerribleTerryTate

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Definitely not. From the age of 15 I've played online gaming, been involved with clans etc, yet at any time I could go out on the town with some mates, chill out, and talk to people I've never met before and have a good time. Tbh in an average week I probably play from 20-40 hours of games, but I also have time for a job, and a social life. I'm in a band, gig a few times a week, and still have time to chill out infront of the computer. It depends, as many others have said on the person.
Instead of watching TV, or reading or whatever other hobbies other people have, I decide to turn the computer on, and shoot some terrorists, or load WoW up.
This brings me to another point, I don't get how people can get addicted to WoW. I know this is off topic, but I get bored of this game quicker than I would an FPS or Stratergy game. I don't get how people can lose their jobs/friends/gfs/souls/ballsack to this game, I truly don't.

Anyways, if you feel like you don't 'belong' in society, or you don't have many friends - you're probably more susceptibe to become addicted to a game. Just as you are to a drug, or anything else. It's a form of escape for some people, and for others it's just some mindless fun to chill out and enjoy themselves. To be honest though, the vast majority of people in society aren't worth your time anyways, so keep doing what you enjoy.
 

Melaisis

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wordsmith said:
GothmogII said:
Again, what makes that kind of conversation any different from say as an example, 'bragging' about winning a soccer match or something?
in the MMO convo, you're bragging about _your_ skills. In bragging about a soccer match, it's a bunch of guys who don't know you. And that's coming from an avid LFC fan :p
Bingo. It applies to a wider scale, too. Anyone can go and watch your game of football and it is a popular sport. Not everyone plays - or even understands - videogames. Constantly boasting about your 'skills' in front of your friends, especially if they weren't even there (likely) or don't even play the game (less likely but still possible), then you're just wasting your breath. I'm not saying obsessive sport spectators are any better, just that such topics generally appeal to a lighter and more accessible sort of base as a 'social norm'. Talking - bragging - about how many kills you got last night is about as pointless and taboo as explaining the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs to a bunch of five year olds.
 

tobyornottoby

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Jan 2, 2008
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Some persons might be more viable for it... like me!

When I get a new game... I get very antisocial. Luckily I like singleplayer adventures so they have an end at which I can resume life ^^

except for that one time I started with my first MMO that was scary o_O luckily I found out mmo's are boring so it didn't make me rejected completely and I got better again

or something
 

GothmogII

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Apr 6, 2008
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Not everyone plays - or even understands - videogames.
*scratches head* I still don't get it, and I can insert anything I like into that sentence:

Not everyone plays - or even understands - chess.

Not everyone plays - or even understands - football.

Not everyone plays - or even understands - golf.

Not everyone plays - or even understands - X.

And, I'm not saying that there aren't people who will talk your ear off with what to someone may sound like utter gibberish. But, what of getting a group of people together who talk about oh I don't know, a WoW raid they did well in, or that time they beat the opposing team in TF2 15 times. As long as the listener is interested, keep talking, otherwise, change the subject.

I don't know, yes it's not technically easy to talk about this kind of stuff to the uninitiated, however, how can that ever change if more people -don't- do just that?

Bingo. It applies to a wider scale, too. Anyone can go and watch your game of football and it is a popular sport.
-Anyone- can go and watch a game of football eh? Maybe so, but that's not to say they'll enjoy it, more so such a person wouldn't be inclined to go in the first place if they didn't no?
Personally, I don't, and I -know- I'm not unique in this regard, this doesn't mean however I'll look down my nose as it were at those who do like it, just that, I personally..don't enjoy it.
 

tagMaverick

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Apr 30, 2008
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I don't think it used to, but now it does more. Especially in america, most of the kids i know disapprove of the current administration, and stuff is just getting really bad. It makes you angry a lot, and you just want to go somewhere where the leader didn't fail out of yale - [sorry if you disagree with my opinion, and I accept our differances =D]. Its easy to forget about how shitty the world is, people dying in wars, realizing that in 90 years your consciousness leaves forever, you want to fill your years with something Exciting, like mideval times. Except we cant, because there are laws that prevent fun, and everything sucks.

Personally, I view myself as being a very logical person, and that's my prize. I'm good at chess and RTS games, and can learn fast, yet I frequently question, "whats it mean" or "who cares". You go to college, you get a good job, you Grind for 60 years and retire. Then you die, thats life. And i for one dont want that to happen to me. But in this day and age, there is no Rogue class, no Chotic Neutral, just a kid doing badly in highschool, and it sucks.

For now, I'm trying to cut back on gaming, because it is definately a problem. A lot of gamers will say it isn't, because they are still addicted, and I know how great games are, but if you seriously play more than 3 hours a day you probably have a problem. You might think you can balance life and gaming, but no one cares that they had to wait 6 minutes to eat dinner so that you could twink your 29 Rogue.

The problem is, once you game for 11 years, you start to forget how to do those normal things. I understand Movie, Dinner, football outside, but it all feels like nothing is being accomplished. You eat, time passes, and it never comes back. You see a movie, no matter how good it is, nothing is gained but the knowledge of what happened that cannot be relayed to anyone who didn't see the movie anyway. And anyone who did will probably have some stupid opinion of it and not be able to consort with you any rational analyzation of any mechanics that were a bit sketchy. I have yet to find a sole who can help rationalize the teleportation in "Jumper" - and not that it's real, just how the author was thinking that it could work - something about electical energies in the brain and E=mc2.

If this is all totally emo and TLDR, the point is this. Shit Sucks, and games usually don't. This can bring even the most rational of individuals to throw away their aspirations for easily reached goals in a game. Instant gratification fTw.
 

wordsmith

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May 1, 2008
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tagMaverick said:
You go to college, you get a good job, you Grind for 60 years and retire. Then you die, thats life. And i for one dont want that to happen to me. But in this day and age, there is no Rogue class, no Chotic Neutral, just a kid doing badly in highschool, and it sucks.
that's what you think :p I'm a level 17druid jkjk. I do understand what you mean though, and the thought of "expiring" after a "60 year grind" has just turned my fantastic mood all emoificated. oh well
 

sms_117b

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Oct 4, 2007
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I've always been a social reject, games never made much of a difference with me
 

poleboy

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sms_117b said:
I've always been a social reject, games never made much of a difference with me
Same here. I always sat by myself and read books before I discovered video games. I would've probably been the cleverest little monkey on the planet if I'd stuck with the books. Damn you video games! Damn you and your addictive fun! :p
 

Drong

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Oct 31, 2007
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Wow did make me a bit of a social reject but these days I manage to game alot and keep an active social life (and I have a fantastic new girlfriend as of yesterday, I just had to say cause i'm loved up to the eyeballs right now, remember kids he who dares wins, he who hesitates masturbates)
 

CarrierII

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Apr 9, 2008
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Those of you on the "not everyone plays or understands XXX" points, consider that for every one person whose played some video game, a few hundred have probably played football. That's because
football is older, and has had more time to gain acceptance
 

tobyornottoby

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Jan 2, 2008
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I understand Movie, Dinner, football outside, but it all feels like nothing is being accomplished.
woah you really are uberlogical and uberrational about everyting ^^;

but how exiting were medieval times anyway? it's romantisized and all, but for the great majority of people (peasants) it was more like a 60 year grind (if they made it that long) with even less time to think about it all, I guess >.>
 

GothmogII

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Khell_Sennet said:
The_root_of_all_evil said:
LordCraigus said:
Sexual Harassment Panda has a good point also.
Sorry, but that sounds SO wrong. ;0
And that makes me a very sad panda...

On the topic of social rejects, a funny conversation between my roommate and myself brought up the topic of schizoid and schizotypal personality "disorders", and how our hatred of society as a whole makes us at least borderline one or the other... So I, having little else to do at work, went on to Wikipedia and tried to determine which if any I was.

According to the ICD-10 criteria, I'm a full-blown schizoid... YAYS!
The test, if four or more of the following are true...
1 - Emotional coldness, detachment or reduced affection.
2 - Limited capacity to express either positive or negative emotions towards others.
3 - Consistent preference for solitary activities.
4 - Very few (if any) close friends or relationships, and a lack of desire for such.
5 - Indifference to either praise or criticism.
6 - Taking pleasure in few, if any, activities.
7 - Indifference to social norms and conventions.
8 - Preoccupation with fantasy and introspection.
9 - Lack of desire for sexual experiences with another person.

1 Yes, 2 No, 3 Yes, 4 Yes, 5 Sorta, 6 Sorta, 7 Hell Yes, 8 Mucho Yes, 9 Very No.
That's 5 yes, 2 no, and 2 on the fence. YAY, I'm a certifiable psychotic.

So how does everyone else stack up with this?
Probably most of the same boxes ticked here. However, I don't really see how any of those things listed are bad things. After all, I like cute animals too. I understand people are supposedly social creatures, but if you don't want company at some point, or never more than required to survive ie. for getting a job, going to the shops etc., why force it?
Granted, force is a harsh word, no one is pointing a gun at your head saying go out and be social, but the prevailing attitude towards it can feel like it sometimes, it's so depressing. -_-;
 

Terramax

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Jan 11, 2008
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I think it gaming can make as much social rejects as books can. Doesn't mean these are bad/ boring/ terrible people if this is what anyone would insinuate.

In the case of MMORPGs, more excessively social rejects, because they're built around making sure you spend serious time on them and nothing else. Like gambling.

I know this more than anyone because I essentially lost a friend because all he could talk about was MMORPGs. One day we both realised there was nothing else he could talk about, we parted ways that day and haven't spoken to each other that much since.

But if I were to split hairs I'd say nothing in this world makes social rejects. We all choose to become them.