Poll: do you consider gaming to be a life style?

[godfist88]

so i just noticed that link on the front page for the webby awards that says "support gaming as a lifestle", and it got me thinking, can being a gamer really be considered a life style? i think the idea of it is a little strange, personally.

what do you guys think?

 

[Custard_Angel]

Gaming is a lifestyle, but as the figurehead of a lifestyle it is sad to the point of pathetic.

Balance is the key to life and if you choose to add gaming to yours instead of say... cycling, there's no harm in that, but if its the only thing you do you're going to run into some serious problems.

So, by all means play Super Mario Galaxy beyond 100% completion, but don't let that achievement define your life.

 

[Lullabye]

I would say no but its so freakin expensive that i guess it is. I mean, you have to manage rather large amounts of time and money over different seasons and wait years for a game you really really want*cough*dukenukem*cough*
So maybe not a lifestyle, but certainly a way of life to be had.

 

[Bon_Clay]

Not usually. If all you do is sit around playing games all the time then I guess, but that isn't healthy. Its just a hobby or interest you have. Even if its one of your main interests it shouldn't really be a lifestyle.

The only way I could see it being a lifestyle for people is if they are professional competitive gamers, or video game reviewers maybe.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Recreational activity. Life style is just pushing it.

 

[gamer_parent]

what about things like diving, hiking and stuff? I mean, you would consider those a lifestyle in the sense that you're active, but I think the word "lifestyle" generally implies a larger set of activities that go beyond the confines of a single hobby.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

It's more of a hobby or something to waste your time with.

If it doesn't bring money to the table,except for some gamers that play professionally in tournaments or have sponsors that pay them for raiding hardcore(reffering to WoW guilds here)then it's only for entertainement and fun.

 

[iblis666]

i consider it a past time like watching sports or fantasy football or arts and crafts

 

[TheHecatomb]

Short answer: No.

I most definitely do not identify myself with playing videogames. Nor watching movies [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eg6yIwP2vs], reading a book [http://www.enotes.com/art-illusion], listening to music [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuzl1aaL2gg] or drawing a portrait [http://artbyruben.blogspot.com/2010/11/beautiful-people.html]. Although the latter probably says a lot more about me than the others. Anyway, long story short; it's just something I do every now and then, it has absolutely zero to do with a lifestyle. Playing so many videogames it could be called a lifestyle seems, to me, unhealthy behavior.

 

[Gabriel Majeski]

Yeah... no. Don't get me wrong, I love gaming, and I have all my life. But it is a hobby. My father is a gamer (albeit of the tabletop strategy/rpg sort) and when I was young, I went with him to a gathering of his old tabletop game cronies (Who all turned out to be adamant of the lifestyle, ENTIRELY socially inept, and were mired with health problems). We all had fun sure, but on the way home, he imparted to me to never be like them. "What we do is fun," he said, "BUT it is a 'hobby' and nothing more." Words of wisdom, that I continue to value to this day on both the screen and table.

 

[sintakesyou]

I've met many friends from a shared love of video games. That connection has led to finding other things we have in common. So yes video games are a lifestyle. Something that brings people togther that then leads to other experiences.

 

[Vault101]

well....I depends on how you define "lifestyle"

I mean if playign games is pretty much the only thing you devote yourself too then...thats not really a good thing

however mabye by life style they mean somone is a real gaming enthusiist...they buy collectors editions, they keep up to date with whats going on in the industry, they play with freinds and socialse through gaming, I mean we are all part of this site right? mabye that counts as somthing to do with lifestyle

its sort of similar to D&D or LARP'ing I sort of see them as lifestyle choices

 

[Vault101]

Yeah... no. Don't get me wrong, I love gaming, and I have all my life. But it is a hobby. My father is a gamer (albeit of the tabletop strategy/rpg sort) and when I was young, I went with him to a gathering of his old tabletop game cronies (Who all turned out to be adamant of the lifestyle, ENTIRELY socially inept, and were mired with health problems). We all had fun sure, but on the way home, he imparted to me to never be like them. "What we do is fun," he said, "BUT it is a 'hobby' and nothing more." Words of wisdom, that I continue to value to this day on both the screen and table.

makes sense I guess

but mabye the whole D&D thing was a symptom...not a cause of their problems, I mean if its not D&D or video games its somthing else that will apeal and mabye they will devote their time too because they dont have much else

and if that was their choice...and they were truly happy then...well fair enough

 

[CactiComplex]

Well... kinda, I guess. I mean, not for me, and not for most people, I'd think. But then you get people like my brother who are obsessed, and while obsession may not equate a lifestyle, he's made his life revolve around gaming, so it's become one.

 

[Vault101]

so i just noticed that link on the front page for the webby awards that says "support gaming as a lifestle", and it got me thinking, can being a gamer really be considered a life style? i think the idea of it is a little strange, personally.

what do you guys think?

I just thourhgt that mabye this lifestyle thign comes from people giving themselves the label of "gamer" as a sense of Identity

it may not be so much about playing games ALL the time but more saying "yeah Im a gamer...its what I do and its awsome!" and mabye it feels good to call it a "lifestyle"

where as some people understandibly dont liek to be labelled and just see gaming as a fun form of entertainment besides reading ro watching movies

 

[Titan Buttons]

Games are for fun and good times, alone or with friends, but it's not a lifestyle