Poll: Giving up gaming because you're old
- Thread starter Jason Rayes
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Ah yes, the old "you're too old for ___!" My parents spent a good chunk of their lives trying to work that angle on me. No, I'm pretty sure you start gardens because you like plants, not because your brain is genetically designed to inevitably want to garden. Not quite sure what the advantage of that would be anyway. If you hit "old" (in 30 years this will hopefully be like, 100 or something) and you're still playing games, there's nothing wrong with you. Likewise, if you want to garden, that's a thing, too. Nothing dictates hobbies; they're all about what you're interested in at the moment. Now, if you hit some arbitrary-double-digit age and pick up wanton murder and destruction, that might indicate something has gone wrong in your head...
That reminds me, actually. I was in the car with my Mom the other day, and we were listening to NPR. Someone on whatever program we were listening to mentioned that the average gamer was now 30 years old, and she just shook her head and said "how sad is that?" The older generation never truly accepts the new medium. It's up to those that grow up with it as a fact of life to integrate it into society.Catrixa said:
Age - 30
House - Check
Full time job - Check
Missus - Check
Kids - Nope
Studying by night - check
Other hobbies - check
Still gaming - bet your damn arse check
I don't plan on stopping gaming. I enjoy it as a pass time. Unless something better comes along why would I stop doing something I like. Strange thread.
House - Check
Full time job - Check
Missus - Check
Kids - Nope
Studying by night - check
Other hobbies - check
Still gaming - bet your damn arse check
I don't plan on stopping gaming. I enjoy it as a pass time. Unless something better comes along why would I stop doing something I like. Strange thread.
Unless your age physically prevents you from gaming (ie degenerating eyesight, motor control, etc), nothing is going to stop you. The closest thing might be getting a full time job and a family and whatnot that just doesn't give you time to play anymore. But if you maintain gaming through that, hitting retirement age only means you'll have more time again.
At some point, you do become a fucking abject loser if you're older and play games AS MUCH AS adolescent gamers do, i.e. 20+ hours/week continuously. I'm nearly 28, but the number of games I play has decreased over the last several years, as well as the average amount of hours per week. Sometimes I go a couple weeks without playing a single game at all because I find other stuff to do. My half-brother is 41, has a wife and two kids, and squeezes in a few hours of gaming a week, always at night and at the expense of sleep.
Regardless of age, it's all about balance. I laugh at any gamer who can't be bothered to get outside and play a sport, ride a bike, or engage in some kind of regular rigorous exercise. Fat or uncoordinated, stereotypical gamers just make me cringe. If all you do with your free time is sit, it shows in your face, your body, the energy and vitality (or lack thereof) that you project.
I don't support the extreme position of saying "gaming after age X is pathetic and brands you as a loser," but there should be some sort of time devotion drop-off as years pass and you progress into adulthood. Between a budding career (or just shuffling along between a couple part-time jobs), and getting a long-term girlfriend (or boyfriend), people in their twenties and beyond shouldn't be finding so much idle time to devote to what is mostly a fruitless leisure activity.
Regardless of age, it's all about balance. I laugh at any gamer who can't be bothered to get outside and play a sport, ride a bike, or engage in some kind of regular rigorous exercise. Fat or uncoordinated, stereotypical gamers just make me cringe. If all you do with your free time is sit, it shows in your face, your body, the energy and vitality (or lack thereof) that you project.
I don't support the extreme position of saying "gaming after age X is pathetic and brands you as a loser," but there should be some sort of time devotion drop-off as years pass and you progress into adulthood. Between a budding career (or just shuffling along between a couple part-time jobs), and getting a long-term girlfriend (or boyfriend), people in their twenties and beyond shouldn't be finding so much idle time to devote to what is mostly a fruitless leisure activity.
Fuck, I don't care what it looks like to be a stickler and correct you on this, but the word is PIQUE, PIQUE MY INTEREST. Don't say shit you don't understand. You're 23; you really should know this. I could've corrected you here when I was 14.SaneAmongInsane said:
I wouldn't say people quit video games because they 'get old'
It's a change in priorites and desires that would prompt a person to quit something they enjoy.
From smoking to video games to drinking.
It's a change in priorites and desires that would prompt a person to quit something they enjoy.
From smoking to video games to drinking.
Nope. It may take a backseat to how much I play now, as my time gets more cluttered with shit to do, but gaming will always be something I enjoy with friends, family, and by my lonesome.
We have to keep in mind that video games are a fairly new hobby so there's not many VERY old people that grew up playing video games. So we can't simply observe them and see. But there's no denying that as you get older, the average person's level of more important stuff to do goes up so you have less time for games. I don't think there's any biological "switch" of sorts, if you like doing something then you're always going to enjoy doing it, just finding the time and/or ability to do those things gets harder with age.
It's very likely you'll come to a point where the majority of games won't captivate you like they did in your youth, but you'll still be playing them. Let me use Shadow of Colossus for example, one of my top 3 games of the past decade which I only finally got around to playing a few years ago. In my teens I would've burned through it over a weekend, but playing it in my late 20's I'd set the controller down after each boss and resume the next day.
Now when you actually grow old we're still just as likely to take up something like gardening as our grandparents are, but as long as our minds remain active we'll still be playing games as well. My Grandma does a little bit of gardening, and I probably will too at her age. But she also watches Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and a Soap Opera every day. I'll be playing Nintendo instead.
Now when you actually grow old we're still just as likely to take up something like gardening as our grandparents are, but as long as our minds remain active we'll still be playing games as well. My Grandma does a little bit of gardening, and I probably will too at her age. But she also watches Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and a Soap Opera every day. I'll be playing Nintendo instead.
Same here. I'm not likely to give up gaming because I don't feel like playing anymore. So long as I can, I will play. But I have gone through months-long stretches of inactivity because my job and other pressing priorities simply didn't leave me with a whole lot of time for gaming. And I suspect those times will come around again.TK421 said:
I'll game for as long as I can, presumably until I become as inept with 'modern' technology as my father is with 'current' stuff.
Either that or until I can download myself into a VR and play forever.
Either that or until I can download myself into a VR and play forever.
This is just my personal experience, but I?m 16 ¾, and I haven?t played a game in ages. It?s probably because of stuff like depression, inconvenience, money, priorities, OCD, possible dyspraxia?basically, sucky real-life, but I just don?t really feel like playing games in general anymore. I don?t feel like doing a lot of things that I enjoyed when I was younger either.
I?ll probably get back into it when I give my life a kick up the backside, become an adult, move into my own place, and get enough income, but who knows? The gaming landscape constantly changes, and it may?ve changed so drastically by the time I?m at an age where I can finally settle down (if that?s even possible; I?ll still have shitloads of stress and I can never truly reclaim my youth) that it just won?t appeal to me.
Either way, in terms of gaming, I will never be too old for that shit. Other stuff might've gotten in the way, but I?ll still enjoy the odd play on Donkey Kong Country 2 or Street Fighter Alpha 2. I?ll probably become as technologically retarded as my mother as time goes on and technology rapidly improves, since I barely have a grasp on current technology as it is (I don?t have a smartphone, due to?well, I just don?t know much or how little money I should spend on it, I?m not sure I?d know how to work it out or use it to its fullest capabilities, and I?m generally a lazy and uncoordinated person who would somehow fuck it up).
I?ll probably get back into it when I give my life a kick up the backside, become an adult, move into my own place, and get enough income, but who knows? The gaming landscape constantly changes, and it may?ve changed so drastically by the time I?m at an age where I can finally settle down (if that?s even possible; I?ll still have shitloads of stress and I can never truly reclaim my youth) that it just won?t appeal to me.
Either way, in terms of gaming, I will never be too old for that shit. Other stuff might've gotten in the way, but I?ll still enjoy the odd play on Donkey Kong Country 2 or Street Fighter Alpha 2. I?ll probably become as technologically retarded as my mother as time goes on and technology rapidly improves, since I barely have a grasp on current technology as it is (I don?t have a smartphone, due to?well, I just don?t know much or how little money I should spend on it, I?m not sure I?d know how to work it out or use it to its fullest capabilities, and I?m generally a lazy and uncoordinated person who would somehow fuck it up).