Why Do People Look Down on Gamers?

[Kagim]

Because people don't.

I always hear more people complaining about being looked down upon for games then actually meeting people who look down upon me for doing so.

What it usually seems to be is...

1) Your not really being talked down to, but you perceive it as this because, hey, it's always fun to be a victim. This is not a joke, people like being 'persecuted'. It validates not doing anything.

2) That person probably doesn't like you, and is simply just adding another thing to make fun of you for, has nothing to do with video games, just the fact they don't like you.

3)Your leaving important things out from your 'experience'. Like, for example, you never shutting the hell up about video games. This is almost ALWAYS the case.

I'm not trying to be mean. However despite liking games myself, quite a bit, I have found myself wanting to strangle some of my younger co workers for not shutting up about the new NHL game that's "Like the greatest! Let me tell you, at great lengths, about the features!"

Some people don't like games. Talking about them all the time will make them hate you. Talking about games non stop to a person who likes games will still make them hate you.

While i am sure people will say "Lol kagim! But i only brought up games once ever! Your so ignorant!" i have a hard time believing that. Even if it is, it's probably reason 1 or 2 then.

Sometimes, people just don't like you.

 

[General BrEeZy]

i think we're pretty misunderstood. the massive entertainment, the great stories, the action, the fun, the art they can be, the things you can learn...but we are pretty lazy sometimes. most of the guys are pretty wasteful with our time. but it depends on the person, as always.
we need to become a little more...idk, "regular"...idk what im saying right now but oh well. hopefully you just understand lol

 

[Dr.Sean]

I play video games myself, but I look down on people who use the term "Gamer". I prefer the term "video game connoisseur" or "nerd".

 

[TrevHead]

Probably because most gamers act like assholes, the industry doesnt do us or them any favours as they activly encourage their customers act like fanboys with their us against them mentality. I mean what would you think if you saw movie buffs or book worms acting the same?

Atleast things arnt as bad as they are in Japan, while to the outsider it might seem like a gamers heaven but working adults there are practically socal outcasts if they are gamers i think gaming on handhelds is ok as a casual pursuit but gaming as a proper hobby isnt.

The only thing thats worse in japan is to be into watching anime (manga is fine). Thats not to say they arnt adult gamers or anime fans, far from it, but these ppl are social outcasts and goes some way to explain why otaku are so damn creepy because they dont have many social norms to comform to.

 

[FalloutJack]

This assumes that it happens all the time and everywhere, more often than not. I actually doubt that.

 

[blankedboy]

Well our industry isn't exactly mature.

 

[TiefBlau]

The media needs a boogeyman, etc.

 

[WorldCritic]

Because the word "gamer" conjures up sterotypes in peoples' minds like so many things do.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

You could just rip them apart. I find it fun. They really don't have a leg to stand on. Question them and their argument falls apart. I'm a very vocal gamer.

 

[fletch_talon]

Disclaimer: I don't agree with the viewpoints I'm about to post, just putting forth a theory of what others may think.

Gaming, on the surface doesn't lead to anything. You sit down, you play a game and have fun, but nothing results from it.
Other hobbies (supposedly) do. Sports is exercise, craft/art results in something you can present or sell and so on.
They see no merit because they see no point to it. They seem to forget that reading is very much similar.

 

[Death on Trapezoids]

Why do people look down on gamers?

Because the stereotype of a gamer, a psycopathic, neckbearded man-child who lives in his parent's basement, hasn't showered since high school, subsists on cheetos and Monster, and is oblivious to the finer points of social interaction clashes dramatically with "normal" society's expectations of people to grow up, leave home, devote a portion of their lives to mindless blah blahing, get married and have lots of children.

 

[Without Reason]

Well our industry isn't exactly mature.

I think that we are taking the term "gamer" a little to far.

I think that most gamers don't play these games. Most gamers are WoW players or adrenaline junkies on CoD or Halo.

But even though games are really fun and are good way to pass the time, there are a tons of people out there that don't play games. People are usually scared of what they don't know. Especially when people who play the same game get together and talk about those games; they use a lot of weird sounding jargon and word phrases. People look down on gamers because they don't know how much fun games are and think that they are to busy to even give them a try.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

You could just rip them apart. I find it fun. They really don't have a leg to stand on. Question them and their argument falls apart. I'm a very vocal gamer.

Can?t you just let them have their opinion? What does arguing with them accomplish beyond making them hate you more?

When they scoff at me when I'm having a conversation with a friend, I call fair game. A "You play video games?" is also fair game. I don't pick fights, but some opinions and actions need to be corrected.

 

[joebthegreat]

Those people who enjoy games who don't fit into the stereotype aren't noticeable and don't get mocked as "gamers".

Those who are mocked are mocked because they fit into the stereotype.

If somebody hates on you because you play games, and "because you play games" is the sole reason for it, then they have a problem. No seriously, a mental fucking problem.

If somebody hates you because you love to share your obnoxious opinions with them really loudly, you act immature and like a brat, buy into a false dichotomy in which it's "us nerds" versus "those damn popular stupid jocks", and generally make yourself socially awkward... well. It's not them hating you for being a gamer. They hate you for being the kind of person that "gamer" has become a stereotype to describe.

I'm not directly pointing this to the OP. I have no idea what the situation around the OP is exactly, and I don't want to get into any specific situations where I don't personally know the specific details. For a lot of gamers though I see this trend. They act generally unlikable and then get upset when people don't like their behavior. It's not prejudiced guys. It's life, and it's a lot more complicated than you're giving it credit for.

Sometimes I'm actually surprised how simplistic the minds of many "gamers" I met in high school really were. Two of the best programmers in my school were linebackers on the football team, true story. Then there were "gamers" that hated the football team, were in the most basic remedial math classes and failing, and I honestly wasn't aware that their group even existed until I met one in a creative writing class and got invited to their DnD session. Point is that for every legitimately intelligent sociable gamer out there there really are those people who made the stereotype in the first place, and I feel nothing but pity for them.

 

[Food Critic]

As a man who currently attends a technical college, i feel more than qualified to comment on this. Here are the biggest reasons I see.

NOTE: I don't necessarily agree with all of these statements, nor do I believe they are universally true. I'm just here to lay down my observations as objectively as possible.

1) style. Gamers are notoriously bad dressers. the worst offenders are typically the guys who wear hiked up short shorts, coupled with ankle socks stretched up as high as possible. Girls tend to ignore their figure and opt towards baggy guy clothing, which looks bad enough when the male gender is wearing it. geeks also have a habit of wearing hats and trench-coats without consideration of their remaining outfit, leading to horribly mismatched looks. And then there's the furies, whom to non gamers are often indistinguishable from the hardcore gamer crowd. these people permanently attach cat ears and/or tails to their bodies. granted, some of the things above might be passable if it weren't for my following point

2) bodily upkeep. For one, gamers are often overweight, refuse to use deodorant (a lot of people try to get away with this: WE DO SMELL YOU, AND LET ME SAY THAT YOUR PITS SURE AS HELL AREN'T SCENTED LIKE AN F'ING YANKEE CANDLE SAMPLER), and chose from a wide variety of bad facial hair designs, from the 70's mustache to the full-on pedophile beard. add to this list the greasy, unkempt pony tail, and you have a combination of blatant disregard that will assault the senses of any average non-gamer.

3) personality. We all know of the introvert gamer, the person who spends all day locked in his room lost in his virtual world, left with all the social skills of your average tomato. there is something far, far worse: the extrovert. This person believes that they are golden god of humor and wealth, and that the entire world should have the opportunity to hear their silky voice. In reality, they spend all day vomiting up trivial personal information, overused memes, and a repertoire of geeky inside jokes that never fail to enact an awkward silence throughout the room they are said in. I have taken classes that I have enjoyed very much, but slowly begin to dread them, as every day I am forced to sit through a constant bombardment of their attempts at humor and knowledge.

I'm not saying all geeks are bad--I'm pretty geeky myself. However, when they start to do the things I've listed above, there's more than enough reason to explain why we've got a bad rap with the rest of the world.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

A lot of them are short.