Gaming and age

[Stinovitch]

So lately I've been more and more open to friends and family about the fact that I'm a gamer and love games. I've had some good discussions with some people about it, but I've also noticed something that bugged me ever since.

I've just reached the age of 18 and am about to leave to university. I've friends both in and out of the internet. My friends outside of the internet are about my age or a year younger/older. My friends on the internet vary from the age of 16 to even 50, multiple of them are even parents, but I don't care really they're fun to talk with and I've had some very enjoyable moments with them. If I talk about them to people outside of gaming they always frown about my 30+ friends, even calling them pathetic at some times. Now I know I'm young and have a lot to learn, but what the hell is wrong with 30+ men and women playing video games and having a great time. I tried to defend them, but it has had little effect.

So what do you think about this? Is it wrong to be playing online games if you're above a certain age? Have you ever had the same thing said to you? I'd like to hear your opinion about this.

 

[Legion]

I have never cared about such things because it stems from ignorance. The kind of person who thinks there is something wrong with people playing games at age 30 or over, but not watching TV or other similar forms of entertainment are ignorant at best and hypocrites at worst.

My general approach to things is that if people enjoy it and it doesn't hurt anybody then it is nobody else's business what they spend their free time doing. There is no "correct" way to spend it and people ought to look at their own lives before judging others.

 

[Zhukov]

Given that this is a gaming forum I doubt you're going to get many people condemning 30+ gamers.

Personally, I'd say that what other people choose to do with their leisure time is their business, regardless of age.

I'm 25 and I play games... obviously. Although I generally keep that fact to myself. If I was to run about broadcasting it then people would be less likely to think, "Well, Murray plays games and he's an adult, so adults playing games must be fine!" and more likely to think, "Aha! So that's what's wrong with him!"

 

[Stinovitch]

I just had an interesting thought. Did you ever think you'd be playing video games this long? Like when did you realize you'd be a lifer?

In all honesty, yeah...
I mean not in the same way as right now, but I don't see anything wrong with it if you keep in mind your other responsibilities to your family/work/friends/etc.

Given that this is a gaming forum I doubt you're going to get many people condemning 30+ gamers.

Personally, I'd say that what other people choose to do with their leisure time is their business, regardless of age.

I'm 25 and I play games... obviously. Although I generally keep that fact to myself. If I was to run about broadcasting it then people would be less likely to think, "Well, Murray plays games and he's an adult, so adults playing games must be fine!" and more likely to think, "Aha! So that's what's wrong with him!"

I thought of that after I posted it, but yeah...
It's also not like that that I'm actually screaming that I'm gamer. I just talk a little bit more about it and am not afraid to say it's my hobby, which I didn't do before.

 

[SwiftRyde]

It' a stupid thought, gaming is a way of entertaiment for all ages, and a big part of those games were made for a mature audience, but there are a lot of stupid thoughts.

In my school there is some people that say that 'if you play videogames you're a "freak"'

 

[DANEgerous]

I think such thing stem from how people view games which is to say they are ways of acting out a variety of childish fantasy and they have no real strategy nor skill nor thought needed. My parents thought that about 6 year ago, back then I was playing WoW and my guild found a point just about 45 min we could go to and being 21 my father told me "you're the only one old enough to drink pleas do not do it in front of kids" I got there and If i had not taken I was the 3ed youngest one there the other two being my brother and and the guild leaders 10 year old daughter.

I think this single instance puts in view of what age gamers are and what media views them as. If a major news station talk about games they ask "How will my 12 year old be effected by the sex in Mass Effect 3?" Well here is how, not at all if you have half a brain. The games are rated and if your 12 year old somehow did try to buy it most place would not take his money.

I mean think about the people making the judgement. Can they name 10 charters in gaming? Not likely, i mean you will probably get Mario, Sonic, Donkey Kong... pac man. So yeah Gaming does have this weird place in pop culture right now. Big named media thinks that a meaningful story is never told in a game ever because "look Call of Duty see proof!" which is like saying Movies never have a relevant story because "Look they mad e the Smurfs! Proof" and many people just do not know of any game outside of the 80s or one that made the news due to having guns, fighting and or tits.

 

[Jazoni89]

Funny how you say this when the average gamer is well into their thirties.

I would understand if you felt like that ten years ago, but gaming has matured as a form of media, and so have the gamers too.

Though i do admit the US mainstream media has a very negative reaction to video games still, in other parts of the world however (especially Japan, Korea, Parts of western Europe), this is near non-existent. Everyone I know loves games, even my parents wouldn't say no to a bit of Tiger Woods action on the Wii.

 

[krazykidd]

Here is the problem i think most people find with videogames . Videogames is kinda like playing make believe . When you're playing a game , you're play made up person in a made up world . People associate that to playing " pretend " and playing "pretend" is a childrens game . It's like how LARPers get a lot of hate , even though they aren't hurting anybody and having fun , but going out getting drunk and having sex with random strangers is okay ( and even in some cases what is expected of a 20 year old ).

Given that this is a gaming forum I doubt you're going to get many people condemning 30+ gamers.

Personally, I'd say that what other people choose to do with their leisure time is their business, regardless of age.

I'm 25 and I play games... obviously. Although I generally keep that fact to myself. If I was to run about broadcasting it then people would be less likely to think, "Well, Murray plays games and he's an adult, so adults playing games must be fine!" and more likely to think, "Aha! So that's what's wrong with him!"

Also this . The ones who want gaming to be accepted aren't the best examples and sometimes shouldn't be the ones leading the movement. We need a good looking sophisticated , blond blue eyed man with a chisled chin to step up to the plate and say , i am a gamer , not a 40 year old bald dude that's locked in his basement playing WoW ( which is the " not always wrong" stereotype of gamers). Seriously on this forum alone you will find many people identifying themselves and asocial introvert "forever alone" types.

 

[nuttshell]

There's nothing wrong with spending time with games as is with any other hobby. It's just that:

...If I talk about them to people outside of gaming...

Why would you talk about your online friends with people who aren't into that? The interaction is limited by distance and people will assume that nothing meaningful can come out of that. Some even need proof that they have "real lives" (whatever that's supposed to mean) and RL-friends outside of gaming. Otherwise, they are lonely and mentally ill. Also, I agree with this:

( which is the " not always wrong" stereotype of gamers)

I'm not saying that all people, who never got into the online things think like this but the majority does. You can talk about the games but talking about the people in online games will make them look down upon you.

 

[Julius Terrell]

Being a 35-year old guy, I've been trying to fight the negative stereotypes of gaming for a LONG time. Sure I don't have the best job in the world, or tons of money, but I'm a responsible adult that understands the world. I don't hide my love for video gaming from anyone. If people can be proud of professional sports that they don't even play then I'm still doing more than them.

Even though I'm a gamer with supposedly no life, I can run marathons. So don't listen to people who use outdated stereotypes.

 

[rasputin0009]

Because of the 80's. Pong really fucked with people. Was giving the masses dementia and all that. And even after Nintendo fixed the whole dementia problem, the negative connotations of "video games" stuck. And they still gets demonized by politicians/media for shits and giggles today. Fantasy violence undeniably causes real violence, right? So obviously, anyone who's been playing video games into their 30's has serious mental health issues.

 

[Something Amyss]

"fun" knows no age limits.

I suppose maybe there's an issue if you're playing games explicitly aimed at a younger audience, but as a whole I don't see it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

My dad played Age of Empires and Sim City well into his 50's and in a way I feel like I've always been covered by that.

 

[Raggedstar]

I think the whole "growing up =/= growing old" thing is relevant here.

Fun is fun. Humans need mental stimulation and entertainment pretty much as a requirement, whether it's from reading, music, drawing, movies, sports, or pretty much anything. Gaming is no more for youth as classical music is for adults. You may have other responsibilities that limit your time, but as long as everything is in check then things are hunky-dory. I'm actually more into gaming as an adult (well, I'm 25 right now) than I was when I was a kid, and I don't feel any shame in that and no sight of me stopping any time soon. In fact, even now most of my games are rated E to T, which seems to stir up certain people even more (even though I still play M rated ones too). Spyro, a game for kids and kids alone? Screw you, I don't want to live in that kind of world!

Honestly, I have very few people over my age group that I can talk to about my interests, whether it be gaming, metal, or with some even animation. Some of them even think it's silly. My 50 year old aunt is really into Ayn Rand's works and I was talking to her about Bioshock, hoping to spark some sort of curiosity (since she kind of rolls her eyes whenever I get into gaming that involves shooting aliens and such). On her side it was pretty much like "yes", "uh-huh", "whatever you say, dear". It was frustrating, but then again she's from a different time with different interests and obviously won't even be tempted by something even tangentially related to them if they're from a medium she doesn't care for (also she's one of those "cartoons are for kids" and "The Simpsons is stupid, brain-killing filth". This is 90s Simpsons I'm talking about too). My uncle and his friends are a bit more enthusiastic regarding gaming (they used to have LAN parties with Quake and Starcraft about 15 years ago when I was a kid) and stopped less because "gaming is for people in their 30s and under" and more because of work and family responsibilities.

Anyways, just keep trucking. Times are changing. Know your priorities and limits and everyone will be cool with it in some way.

 

[cathou]

i will turn 34 next month, and i'm still a gamer. i started gaming on a colecovision that was plug into a black and white tv !

Seriously, people have stereotypes in mind. i guess that a 34 years old guy or girl that play 12 hour per day, have no social life and still live in his/her parent's basement, yeah it's pathetic.

But most of us, we do gaming as a hobby. after a day of work, when the kids are in the bed, that had some quality time with my loved ones, nothing can relief more stress that assassinating someone from the roof of a building in AC.

i dont think i never really think if i would play or not when i would be older. As long as i still get fun from it, i dont see why i would quit gaming...

 

[LaoJim]

Is this getting better? I'm also 35 and when I was a kid video games were mostly for kids, now I've grown up so has the industry. With the popularity of CoD, Angry Birds, Plants vs Zombies and even (gasp) Farmville, it seems nearly everyone, at least under 50 spends some time playing video games and it's more accepted.

People do have funny ideas about mature video games though. My wife last night when she came and saw me playing Rayman Legends "Why are you playing that. Surely its far too easy for you". I just laughed and handed her the controller...

 

[Raikas]

So what do you think about this? Is it wrong to be playing online games if you're above a certain age? Have you ever had the same thing said to you? I'd like to hear your opinion about this.

In my experience (I'm 34 and work with a group who are mostly 35-50), people don't find gaming as an adult hobby weird unless you talk about it in discussions of non-equivalent hobbies. If people are talking about some TV show that I've never seen and I brush it off with "I don't really watch TV, if I'm in front of a screen I'd rather be gaming", people generally see that as normal (they might do some teasing, but they do that to people who talk about reality TV, or romantic comedies, so that's standard behaviour).

I have a couple of co-workers who are into the same types of games that I am, and if we discuss some new release in the 5 minutes before a meeting it's not viewed any differently than the people who are talking about soccer scores or TV talent shows.

That said, there's always that one guy who talks about nothing else (people talk about TV, he talks gaming - but then people talk about vacations, and he talks about gaming, and then they talk about their partners or kids or pets and he still talks gaming, and so on). And yeah - people think he needs to grow up. But it's not specifically because he plays games, it's because he can't seem to talk about anything else. And that level of obsession does come off as immature, because it shows off an incredibly limited worldview.