Who remembers waiting in line for the midnight release of Harry Potter?
Who remembers not being able to wait for the new X-Men or superhero movie to come out?
Who remembers being one of the make-up obsessed people who couldn't wait until Kylie Jenner dropped her line?
Why are waiting for things like this acceptable, but when someone loves video games, we are given the stink eye and called immature.
Being a gamer is a lifestyle. It holds many fandoms inside of the label, and us gamers are the hugest community of modern technology allowing times.
We are the majority. I bet you you can think of at least one person you know who is big into gaming. I can name 4 of my friends that would rather stay up playing a game than going out and drinking. I can name at least 3 more of my friends that would rather go to a midnight release of a game than stand in line for an exclusive club. I can name one couple that met via an online gaming community, and they happen to be getting married next fall.
So, why are us gamers stereotyped into being an "undesirable" group of people? Why are we looked down on when we have a hobby that keeps us out of trouble. We have a lifestyle that brings us closer to people with similar interests that actually ends up being much cheaper than a large amount of other things that millennials apparently like to do.
Examples being: clubbers, make-up collectors, train builders, cosplayers, etc. All of the formerly mentioned hobbies can end up costing a lot more in total than buying a console and a game once in a while. So, why are labeled as money wasters? We just want to understand.
Gaming brings us closer to people. We meet in chat rooms. We meet via multiplayer match-ups. We meet on cheat and walk-through sites. We meet on gameplay videos. We meet on release days, at Game Stop, conventions, little resale shops in the middle of no where. Gaming brings up together. So, why are we called loners and reclusive?
We have a really good sense of time once we've been gaming long enough. We know exactly how long a FiFa match should last. We know how long a mission should take. We know how long an average match battle on the latest CoD should last. It makes us able to budget our time effectively to get the most out of a game or our night. We use those time management skills effectively. So, why are we called lazy?
Being home and playing games means we're not out causing problems. We most likely in our rooms or living rooms sitting on a couch or chair. We aren't breaking things. We aren't getting drunk and driving. We aren't bothering the neighbors with our music, unless they can hear us through apartment walls. So, why are we called destructive?
I don't think I'll ever understand why people think gamers aren't good people. I don't think I'll ever understand why people think us gamers are a lesser lifestyle. I don't think I want to either.
Gamers are good people. We may be quiet, but we're not bad.
