Poll: The Stigma of Gaming

[AwesomeFerret]

I'm sure you've all seen it happen. A kid getting picked on because he would rather play some Super Mario Brothers than football. Or someone being excluded just because of the type of game they play. Yes, I'm sure everyone here is aware of The Stigma of Gaming. We have all been there, treated differently because of our hobby. It may seem like things like what I referred to are just cases of childish bullying, but I think the problem is more serious. Serious as in, this.

I read recently of someone being rejected from a job for no good reason. What was the reason? They were a gamer.

I don't know what sort of job it was, nor does it mater. The point was, it was deemed perfectly acceptable to deny some one work simply because of their hobby. And the thing is, it is apparently quite common. While the game in question was World of Warcraft, this stigma branches out to gaming as a whole.

What I want to ask you, The Escapist, is if you have experienced the stigma and why you think in this day and age it can be such a problem. Why should a gamer be considered any lesser than other? Why is it that so often they are?

 

[Nwabudike Morgan]

There is no stigma anymore. Games are very much a mainstream form of entertainment. Everybody plays games these days. It's the fourth pillar of mass-media pop entertainment, along with movies, television and music.

 

[Grey_Focks]

Never, really. I've never been picked on for playing games, a girl has never left me for playing games (though I'm not dumb enough to play games excessively in their presence), I've never been denied a job for playing games...

honestly I'd say that whatever stigma ever existed is going away thanks to the mainstreaming of gaming by the Wii. Hell, you'd be hard-pressed to find a household that doesn't atleast have a Wii.

 

[Sronpop]

Yes, playing Zelda 4 swords in school on GBA was hell when every douchebag who walked by would pull out the cable. I punched some dude in the face because he did it as well, he was 2 foot taller than me as well, that was a fun day. He didn't even punch back he was jus tso shocked, he just through the link cable and the ground and threatened me while walking away. Whatever douchebag I have a fucking princess to save with my friends.

 

[JRShield]

Gamers used to be nerds, but now that gaming is mainstream, they don't get bullied any more. Nerds are still in a world of trouble though...

 

[Radeonx]

Well, it used to be awesome when you had an NES and Atari. All of your friends loved you, but if you played it all the time, they didn't.
Nowadays, everyone has some sort of console, so unless you play it incredibly excessively, there isn't really a stigma.

 

[Twilight_guy]

No. The the only stigma I've ever had is mental (and the disapproving looks of old people). I have had problems due to the fact that I can't play sports which is partially the result of games but is also partially due to a physical condition.

The stigma will stay until the day that games become a common activity, and thus a minority preference that can be targeted. Admit it, the Wii is good for something.

 

[Wolfram23]

To be fair, there is a trend of WoW players to put everything off except the game... it's like not hiring someone for being a gambler... sorta.

But that does suck, nonetheless. Give the guy a probation period and see if he can handle it, imo.

As to the question at hand, I can't say I've ever really been treated differently for being a gamer, although it's not something I really flaunt around.

 

[meticadpa]

I got called a freak because I said that I couldn't be bothered to play rugby because I was playing Mass Effect.

That was interesting.

 

[AwesomeFerret]

@Twilight_guy: I wasn't implying that the Wii didn't count towards solving the problem, in fact the Wii has been and always will be my console of choice. The problem is, when people think of Wii games, they seem to think of the low budget mini game packs that are "casual games". People seem to think that either games are this sort of game, incredibly nerdy/geeky, or violent and immature. Because of this, gamers seem to warrant less respect.

@Wolfram01: I don't flaunt it either, I just tell people honestly that I play games as a hobby. It seems that, either because of the fact the games I play aren't things like Call of Duty or FIFA, or even just because I play games people think it makes me very different from them, and as such discriminated against.

 

[Marter]

Never have, no. Gaming is too mainstream nowadays for people to treat anyone else differently because of it.

 

[Sephychu]

There is no stigma anymore. Games are very much a mainstream form of entertainment. Everybody plays games these days. It's the fourth pillar of mass-media pop entertainment, along with movies, television and music.

Where do you live? Can I come and live there?

Seriously, when I mention video games as a serious hobby, people stop asking me things about how I live my life and typecast me as an ignorant man-child with more rolls than a bakery.

 

[Nwabudike Morgan]

There is no stigma anymore. Games are very much a mainstream form of entertainment. Everybody plays games these days. It's the fourth pillar of mass-media pop entertainment, along with movies, television and music.

Where do you live? Can I come and live there?

In the year 2010.

 

[AwesomeFerret]

There is no stigma anymore. Games are very much a mainstream form of entertainment. Everybody plays games these days. It's the fourth pillar of mass-media pop entertainment, along with movies, television and music.

Where do you live? Can I come and live there?

Seriously, when I mention video games as a serious hobby, people stop asking me things about how I live my life and typecast me as an ignorant man-child with more rolls than a bakery.

Now this is the sot of thing Im talking about. People think that gamers can be nothing more than that, and ignore everything else.

 

[Carnagath]

In my country there is a stigma, but only by people who have never played a videogame (at least in the last 20 years). So basically it's just a combination of hasty judgement and ignorance. I have a female friend who used to make fun of me all the time because I play games, but I invited her over one day and we played some LBP co-op. That was 6 months ago. Now she owns a PS3 and a Wii and actually bought Mario Galaxy 2 before I did.

 

[Flying Dagger]

No. But then I don't take shit from other people.
And I don't tell people how much I game.

 

[Sephychu]

There is no stigma anymore. Games are very much a mainstream form of entertainment. Everybody plays games these days. It's the fourth pillar of mass-media pop entertainment, along with movies, television and music.

Where do you live? Can I come and live there?

In the year 2010.

Well played.

 

[cerealnmuffin]

I think it depends on what games you play. Sure playing games is more accepted nowadays, especially if you say GTA, Halo, COD or any casual games like Tetris or Wii Sports. If you talk about playing WoW or Everquest, there is still a stigma attached that you must be living in your mom's basement, never shower, and are a virgin. Also lesser known games or rpgs still get looked down upon.

As a girl gamer, people assume I must be a casual gamer. Someone who hasn't met me and hearing that I used to play mmo's may think oh she must be ugly and overweight (I'm a marathon runner). I also hated when I used to play ddr, some guy would start showing me how to play and suggest really easy songs thinking that it must be my first time. When I select a 9 or 10 footer on hard, they assume oh no, you chose something too hard..... i then double A the song much to their surprise -_-

I did get picked on a bit for playing games growing up, but that wasn't the main reason I had to deal with bullies (being tg). I still find it funny that my dad would say I must be addicted to playing video games if I play them for an hour a day when he used to watch TV for hours on end. Why do people looking down on someone who plays games several hours a week when it is considered okay in our society to watch TV for several hours a day?

 

[AwesomeFerret]

I think it depends on what games you play. Sure playing games is more accepted nowadays, especially if you say GTA, Halo, COD or any casual games like Tetris or Wii Sports. If you talk about playing WoW or Everquest, there is still a stigma attached that you must be living in your mom's basement, never shower, and are a virgin. Also lesser known games or rpgs still get looked down upon.

As a girl gamer, people assume I must be a casual gamer. Someone who hasn't met me and hearing that I used to play mmo's may think oh she must be ugly and overweight (I'm a marathon runner). I also hated when I used to play ddr, some guy would start showing me how to play and suggest really easy songs thinking that it must be my first time. When I select a 9 or 10 footer on hard, they assume oh no, you chose something too hard..... i then double A the song much to their surprise -_-

I did get picked on a bit for playing games growing up, but that wasn't the main reason I had to deal with bullies (being tg). I still find it funny that my dad would say I must be addicted to playing video games if I play them for an hour a day when he used to watch TV for hours on end. Why do people looking down on someone who plays games several hours a week when it is considered okay in our society to watch TV for several hours a day?

You make clear a lot of what I was trying to say (although I'm not a girl so not that part). I dont happen to play the paid for online rpgs, but I am a big fan of rpgs, so the same stereotypes apply.

 

[AwesomeFerret]

There is no stigma anymore. Games are very much a mainstream form of entertainment. Everybody plays games these days. It's the fourth pillar of mass-media pop entertainment, along with movies, television and music.

Where do you live? Can I come and live there?

In the year 2010.

Well played.

I wouldn't really say it was, on account of the fact he didn't give a good answer. Just because gaming is a very successful form of entertainment does not mean there isn't a stigma. There isn't, as has already been said, any prejudice against you if you play the main stream titles like Call of Duty, but for other people the problem remains.