Non gamers see my hobbies as "childish" or "a waste of money" and tell me I need to grow up.. I have one thing to say to that.. I DO NOT CARE! So what if it may seem childish to collect video games, it's my life and above all I AM HAPPY! People that claim to be "grown up" and have "more serious things to do than play video games", are the most miserable people I know. I'd rather be Happy and "childish", than be 40 years old and working a shite desk job, hating life... I will never give up my passions for a fantasy of being "normal" -rant over
As years pass, the stigma of looking at gamers or game collectors as being "childish" for "wasting" time & money on something that "they" don't personally like seems to be lessening. If you said this a decade or two ago, it would make more sense, but as of now, I don't know anyone who says a gamer who collects games isn't normal. It's just as normal as any other hobby. In all honesty, I see no point to stamp collecting, because that's not my world. I understand why people do it, though, & would never look down on it just because it doesn't connect with me. Bottom line is, fuck whatever anyone else says, do what you like & what makes you happy. & you seem to be doing just fine.
You need to have thick skin. The amount of friends I had when I left high school to the amount of friends I have now is dramatically smaller (not that I speak to anyone from high school any more). It's because they outgrew my hobby, as soon as everyone turned 18 they all went out drinking and acting like twats in the streets. I prefered staying in my warm room, in the glow of the TV playing my Xbox. Personally I considering going out drinking and acting like a twat more childish than a group of adults in a circle playing Pokemon on the their 3DS.
Best of both worlds for me, lol. Although i have cut down alot on my drinking in the last two years. costs too much money to wake up with a sore head these days haha
I think this is generally true. Gaming is more socially accepted now than it was 10-20 years ago. It's just another medium - just like film, literature, music, art, etc. There are really no limitations on what you can make or what kind of audience you can target. It took a long time for people to accept film as a serious artistic medium. This is already happening with videogames, so 20 years or so from now it will probably be even more accepted. All of that aside, I don't think there's anything wrong with being an adult and being "childish". You need to keep the kid in you alive. It's better to do what you love and lead an interesting life, than to accede to society's demands and become a boring, average, "mature" adult. The important thing is to stay skeptical, and don't make compromises with your ideals. Don't become the lame adult that the child you vowed never to become.
If you are a nerd but not a misfit then you are likely not a nerd. Video games aren't nearly as stigmatized as they were once. Try hard mode nerd life: anime fan, furry, brony etc. Friends that give you shit for your hobby are not true friends.
Being a gamer in your 40s now is fine in today's world. I'm a gamer and.people I know don't think anything against it. People who say it's childish are blind to what gaming is and have no idea, therefore have no right in commenting.
'Gamer' is a stupid, insufficient label and it only seems to apply to games of an electric medium. Playing chess or basketball everyday doesn't make you a gamer, but playing virtual chess or NBA Street does. Not to mention directors aren't called 'filmers', musicians aren't called 'audioers', animators aren't 'cartooners', etc. Video games are the collision of applied science with a whirlwind of different art forms... A masterful blend of design and engineering that many dismiss as 'just a game'. This pattern has been changing, though. Nerdy is cool, games are nerdy, so games are now cool. Society has even rewarded some of the kids getting beat up in high school everyday for playing Pokemon with hot girlfriends because their interests have become a cattle-friendly mass-marketable trend. The same alpha-dicks that used to bully these poor kids are now wearing pixel art shirts to get some action. How the times change. Kids these days amirite?
Idk, it just annoys me when people try and tell me how to live my life. im not 40 too if that confused anyone
Nerdom isn't really something celebrated by average people. When they do something nerdy it tends to be entry level stuff like watch super hero movies (nothing obscure and something everyone and their dog knows like Spiderman). Show them non shonen (sometimes that is enough) anime and they will stop using "nerd" to describe themselves.
I can't stand people that call themselves "techies" or "tech heads" or anything like that... they think they know everything about everything, hand them a simple radio shack soldering iron and they'll shit themselves.. Tech youtube channels sort of washed out YouTube.... but thats for a different rant....
From my gathering people were not telling you to how to live your life, they just have an unjustified opinion on your hobby and giving it a childish label. All in all, they know nothing about your hobby.
In person I get told how to live, mainly within a sub context but sometimes people (usually bogans lol) say shit to my face.. :/
Tell them to fuck off, or just ignore them. Honestly they're assholes man, take with a grain of salt.
I don't like to say I'm a "gamer". In my mind, "gamers" are those sanctimonious Mass Effect obsessed , "PC gaming master race" assholes that think their shit don't stink. If someone asks what I do for a hobby, I say I collect vintage games, or repair old systems, but I'm loath to say "I'm a gamer."
I just do what I enjoy, and I enjoy gaming been gaming since I was 5 and im almost 30 now. People will always have their little remarks and opinions whatever you do in life. Just ignore the haters because there can't be much going on in their life for them to take time out to bash someones hobby. All my friends and family know im a gamer and I never get any stick from them about it though
To be honest I find gaming is just accepted as hobby by people in my age group (mid 20's), like with any hobby someone you know will think its a waste of time. The other week posted a photo on Facebook of my phone emulating a GameBoy and playing Pokemon Trading Card Game, stating that's how I been passing the time when I was unwell. I got asked by a few people who I never thought would have any interest in if it was also possible to do that on the iPhone. I'm sure i also remember reading somewhere that more gamers are in their 30's than any other age group.
Don't worry dude i gotten the same bullshit opinionated assholes by many people before, i assume you live in the "East Coast" or "West Coast" areas where there's more of those douchebags live at & parties too "hard" every damn day! I'm sick of it too and it always those types that ONLY plays casual games! Like NBA 2K12, 2K13 or 14 garbage shit! I just sometimes wish i moved to South Korea/Asia or Japan for that matter.
Japan embraced mobile gaming and nearly abandoned hardcore platforms (one of the reasons why JRPGs aren't seen on consoles anymore).
