The "No Life" Insult

[ReservoirAngel]

I often find the people who tell me to "get a life" are rampant football/rugby/formula 1 fans. So I just throw out that whenever they say 'get a life' to me. I'm spending some of my time on interactive stuff, you spend hours sitting there cheering on a bunch of people who you will never meet, doing something you have no part in, just because they represent the group of said people you've chosen to find the best.

Yeah, I'm so pathetic...

 

[zarix2311]

By saying "Get a life" it's pretty much a case of

because obviously it's not as life fulfilling as whatever they do with their lives.

I agree with this guy 100%. I've been called out before, my aunt abhors video games in every aspect, so I used to hear it from her a lot, I had to stop talking about anything game related around her. (still doesn't always work -_-)

 

[Jasper Jeffs]

I just ignore those comments. I was born for reasons which I don't know, I'm gonna spend my time alive doing whatever the fuck I want. I don't believe there are any pre-defined activities that dictate the worthiness of my life. My parents used to tell me I had no life, but they have shut up about it now they have realised I don't give a fuck. I see a lot of people who think having no life is not going out with friends, or not seeing the world, or not having a job. It's balls, not having a life to me is being chained to a mortgage, or working 5 days of the week to do the same thing every weekend, or saving all your money just to go to fucking Benidorm for 2 weeks every year.

If you wanna do those things, it's fine by me. What I don't like is people telling me I have no life, it's completely subjective, but so many morons believe that a "life" is made up from specific elements, and without them you have no life. I even see people in this thread as well as other places saying "travel the world" as if its a primary ingredient to the ownership of a life, what if the person doesn't like travel? He has no life? Fuck that, everyone has a life, live it. The only problem I see is people following some bullshit set template where they work, sleep and exist. I'd rather live, not slowly die.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

My response would be that they watch TV and movies, therefore they don't "have a life" either.

 

[MikeOfThunder]

How do you kill that which has no life?

...and my response has always been the same - "In this world I am a simple student, but in that, I am falcor... defender of the alliance, I have braved the fargo deep mines..."

Both South Park quotes. Both awesome.

 

[SeriousIssues]

In most cases it is true....

 

[Legion IV]

If you got your own place, work 9-5 you should be able to do whatever you want so i shut most people up but nobody ever says that to me. Thats pretty much it. So boom hes shut down. When your younger though? As long as your getting like 80%+ in school and have a few friends you should be able to do what you want. Gotta keep your grades high though, obligation to your parents.

 

[Baneat]

How do you kill that which has no life?

...and my response has always been the same - "In this world I am a simple student, but in that, I am falcor... defender of the alliance, I have braved the fargo deep mines..."

Both South Park quotes. Both awesome.

Yeah but did he take candle?

 

[StBishop]

OP, You're not alone. I went through the same thing and agree with you.

I assume that's all you really wanted/needed from the replies.

Bonus Round: When you are old enough, just move away. People won't nag as much when you already are a gamer when they meet you. Family are just great at nagging.

 

[gigastrike]

I see it like this. If you spend all day sitting around playing WoW or CoD or any other game and then you go to work or do nothing and just play it. Then you have no life. Life is about experience. Go see the world. Learn something new. If you spend all your time worrying about your KDR and levels and can't see the beauty of the world around you then you have no life. Hell. Take an hour. Go sit in a field or under a tree and relax.

That's the thing. People don't seem to understand that video games are part of the world. They look at a game and see it as an all together different world (because that's what it's portrayed as) and you are pretending to be someone else, but that would be a little generous. Games are electrical impulses, that's it. As real as anything else, just too deep for most people to truely comprehend beyond what they see. What you do in games impacts you and helps you to determine who you are as a person. They test you and help you to develope various skills like management and critical thinking. They are about as pure and vibrant of an experience as the average person can find, way more so than taking a walk in the park to smell the roses and enjoy yourself. Sure what you do in a game wont directly change any part of the rest of the world, but, then again, neither would just about anything I've ever heard anyone give as an alternative.

 

[cuppajoe1687]

Not having a life is when you don't have time for work, friends, family and yourself. Hence, the only way you couldn't have a life is if you were an antisocial shut-in, didn't work, and didn't ever take any time for yourself to do something you enjoy (like playing videogames).

Even then you have a life. It's just a virtual one. I'm not an Asocial Shut-in quite yet, but even then when I do go and close the vault 101 doors occasionally, I'm still doing things I enjoy, such as playing video games, painting, reading, etc.

So I think the only people who need to "get a life" are the ones in coma's.

Funny fact, Antisocial means "Against society" by definition, meaning criminal activity, and Asocial is "Doesn't like being around people". Just some random trivia (learn something new every day eh?)

I think we might actually be in agreement. I think taking time for yourself: i.e. painting, videogames, reading; is very important. What I meant was that one must take care of themselves first and foremost (work and time for yourself) and they'll have "a life." Time for family and friends is extremely important though, because where else are you going to be able to share the experiences of that life? and if you can't share that life, what's the point? Some people need the outside world more than the inside, and vice-versa, but still everyone needs both, and one of those worlds will be more needed at different times of your life than others based off of circumstances. Someone who just moved to a new city for work, and has plenty of time to themselves is probably going to want that outside world more, and someone who has a social life but no means of supporting themselves and no outlet for their personal needs is going to want that 'me' time more.

I suppose a better way to put it is: no matter what, you have a life; just do something with it (which once again can apply to purely internal activities).

p.s. I'm not sure about that definition, but if you are correct then well, my mistake

 

[Fanboy]

Spending most of your time gaming doesn't mean you have "No Life", but it does make your life sound reaaaallly booooring.

Reading books, watching tv, playing games, surfing the internet, etc are all well and good, but they are not interesting experiences I will tell my future grand children about.

 

[newwiseman]

I have a very vibrant and full life, it just happens to have me deal with less people, on average, and doesn't require "going out" to have a good time.

 

[ArchBlade]

Ehh, we've got the occasional idiot 'round here who uses that as an insult. They're very largely outnumbered by the people at my school who do play video games though, even if it is only Call of Duty. That's what I kind of like about it around where I live though, most people around are gamers in one way or another. Doesn't stop a good majority of them from being massive douche bags, but we're not talking about that.

Though, my friends and I will occasionally say that we "no lifed" a game when we just spent a disgustingly large straight period of time doing nothing but playing it, which a number of us do tend to do once we have our hands on an RPG that we like. We only use it in reference to ourselves though.

 

[TheIronRuler]

I was talking to my brother and he said "I need to get a life for playing so many videogames" to which I replied: "Why have one life, when I could have an unlimited number of lives! (The aspect that even if you keep failing the game you can keep trying)". Then he bambles on about how it is bad for me to which I reply: "Alot of things are bad for you, like smoking or eating fast food but I never see you complain about those". It shut him up after that. My opinion on this is that everybody has a life (otherwise they would be dead or never born in the first place) and it is just what they decide to do with it. So if I'm happy with gaming thats what I shall do, I never go around dissing what other people do for fun or as hobby just because I dont like it. The same applies to videogames. So what are you views on this whole "No Life" situation?.

The only reason I approve of this insult is to have the sentence "How can you kill one which has now life?" from 'Make love, not Warcraft'.

the phrase in the usage you're talking about is one step over leaving the discussion midway because you don't like the opinions of the other party.

 

[Erana]

The whole notion is ludicrous, but I like to shut people like that up by either pointing out my accomplishments or just bringing up a personal tragedy.
Really, its pretty much pulling a card to say, "I graduated college at 18," but insulting me for my hobby is even more lame. Its returning the favor with something that is enough of a non-sequitur, but unarguable, allowing me to end the conversation and excuse myself from their unpleasant presence.

 

[Nickolai77]

I don't think playing video games have near as much stigma as they used to since they become more mainstream and accepted as a medium (which was inevitable really). So the "get a life" insult is waning.

Still, there is an important element of truth to it- no matter what it is: Making models, building cars, computers, gardening, reading or video games- you can do a bit too much of everything- stick to it in moderation, don't go overkill on video games.

 

[Iron Mal]

As a general rule the phrase 'get a life' is often thrown about without even any thought being thrown into it (case in point, on more than one occasion I've been told that I' a nerd and a freak and that I need to get a life for playing video games by people who are in the same game as I am).

For the most part it seems to basically be just a way of saying 'You are different from me/disagree with me and are therefore bad, everyone pity this person for not being as awesome as I imagine myself to be'.

 

[penguindude42]

Do what little kids always do:

Tell them, "NO U!".

~Tom<3

 

[5mj7R7yf4Dwr3gdZyyu9PeGNwYjlNrjzuh3iTXQG]

In the outside world, I am a simple geologist... but in here, I am Valkorn, Defender of the Alliance. I have braved the Fargo Deep Mine, and defeated the Blood Fish at Jarod's Landing.

According to Jane McGonigal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_McGonigal], spending just a few minutes as Valkorn, Defender of the Alliance (or whomever) can improve your attitude, your morale and your performance for the rest of the day, whether as a simple geologist, a student, a banker or a soldier.

Usually the get a life insult is in reference to a social life, partially due to the adolescent / young-adulthood phenomenon when a die-hard gamer quits gaming entirely (if temporarily) while honeymooning with a new girlfriend (or as is the case with increasing frequency, a new boyfriend). While this implies that gaming is an activity of secondary preference, it's really due to the compulsion of the honeymoon, especially if sex were previously a rare commodity.[footnote]Many of the problems of this world are due to sex being a scarce commodity to young adults.[/footnote]

As a not-so-young adult, I'm much more comfortable with my misanthropic, reclusive nature, preferring my face-to-face social life to focus around card and board games, but mostly content to interact with folks online. Left 4 Dead proves to be an excellent virtual venue in that regard. And yes, sex is awesome but it's not really that long lasting. Gaming, on the other hand, goes on as long as I like, and even meshes well with snacking and lounging.

But whether or not others approve of my lifestyle, I have one. I have a life, and it is adequately social.

238U.