to think video games aren't just for teenage boys?

[KassandraOfSparta]

Why does playing video games have such a poor image/reputation?

Numerous threads on here with posters confidently proclaiming that they wouldn't let their children play games, would never date anyone who plays games, would never dream of gaming themselves.

Why is gaming any less "worthy" than sitting watching sport all evening, or soap operas, or painting watercolours or doing jigsaws? Just another form of entertainment, isn't it?

And before anyone pops up saying it's so addictive, well of course anything taken to excess is a problem, whether you're staying up all night with your crochet, jigsaws or tv boxset.

Because most people on MumsNet are narrow minded twats.

I agree, I like gaming, I game most evenings on my own or with my friends.But I also have a full time job a husband and I am a mum first. When people ask what I like doing I feel almost embarrassed saying gaming due to the stigma.

Women (and men) can play games for a few hours in an evening and not be addicted, boring, angry, lazy or any of the other stereo types that go along with it.

The average age of those posting on AIBU and most of the larger topics on MN will be the reason behind the small mindedness around this subject

We're all gamers. I had a chunk of hours today before work. I gamed on my own and gamed with my teen who didn't want to go out. It's been fun.

Mumsnet is full of lemon lips who need to get laid imo.

YANBU. My interest in video games as a child has led me to a high paying career in software engineering as an adult. It's also an industry that allows flexible working. I'm a female in my late 20s. I still play games when I can. The posts on here about video games are ridiculous sometimes like it's killing their children's brains.

I'm 50. I'm so far out of my teenage years. Yet I love a bit of Assassin's Creed, Fallout, or Red Dead Redemption.

People played Space Invaders as children and think of people sitting playing that for hours at home alone.

I'm older and a WoW veteran. Life gets in the way but there were plenty of gamers then just more niche.

Also a gamer. Husband is a gamer and when he mentions it people look at me with sympathy - I probably play more than he does these days.

I've finished work and I'm having half hour of fall guys to chill before the kids get home.

I love animal crossing, Mario games mostly platform Nintendo games. Really couldn’t care less if people judge me for it. Fuck um.

I misread that as WW1 verateran

And was thinking damn

I'm a gamer, I met by husband through gaming, and we still game together and separately after two kids We are both excited for DC getting old enough to join in

Not quite as harrowing but about the same time frame 😁iI was in the trenches of Burning Crusade though.

I'd also argue that gaming is a good value hobby. Obviously you have the initial outlay of the console. But the actual games - £50 to £60 for 150ish hours to play through one of the big games?

My husband and I met on WoW more than 10 years ago now! We both still play now although kids have put paid to formal raiding alas. Maybe in a few years again!

Yuck. What’s sex got to do with it.

The big problem with it like box set telly and opposed to hobbies like knitting, painting or gardening is that it’s unproductive. I mean it’s really fun and mentally challenging but ultimately it’s pointless.
I guess reading is similar but the difference is the books people write are different in style and content and they are of fixed length. Playing a game is like reading the same book for months and months and months. And then re reading it over again for months.

Elden Ring took us bloody ages. Definitely got our money's worth there!

I agree and I love video games. I regularly indulge and have all my life, unapologetically!

It's easy to see where the stigma comes from, though. There are a lot of young people completely addicted to them, and having a very negative impact on their lives and those they love.

It can be difficult for parents to manage because they can't relate to it.

The answer is that everyone should play more games! Then they would understand and be able to better help their children regulate.

Completely agree.

I game I play games like the sims, Stardew valley, animal crossing, final fantasy.
I'm in my 30s and really don't get this stupid narrow minded stereotyping.
I'd rather game than go out to the pub.

They're also for semi-retired grandmothers. And why not?

It's not pointless though. There are plenty of games like Minecraft where the whole point of the game is to create something. Would you argue that physical model building or painting and drawing is equally pointless?

I enjoy gaming, specifically the type of games that involve crating and designing. It's definitely more productive and rewarding then scrolling on social media and watching love Island IMO.

You clearly don’t know what you’re fucking talking about.

Playing a game is like reading the same book for months and months and months. And then re reading it over again for months.

This really isn't a good analogy. If people are playing the same game for months it's because it has a shedload of content for them to do. But it's the kind of thing I would expect someone who doesn't understand or know modern gaming to say. It's not all shoot-em-ups (and even those games are a lot deeper now).

Also some games are creative outlets, most modern games are cinematic in their production with storylines, character development, world-building. They are hugely social too - my husband is off next month to the wedding of a friend he met through gaming; there is a whole set of gaming friends going to it.

I think it's a weird mentality to have. Ok, so you might not like gaming. Fair enough. But to label it as something terrible is bizarre. It's just a hobby, like anything else is.

I love a video game. Nintendo games are my favourite. Have enjoyed many a day playing Mario games. Also love a Star Wars game. And bloody love playing the Sims. Before we had kids, me and my husband (not at the time) would whole away our evenings and weekends playing Star Wars battlefront on the PS2, and it was such fun.

I also think some games are really good for your brain. Straight up shooter games, probably not so much, but for a lot of them, you need quick reflexes and the ability to problem solve. Things like Zelda are essentially puzzles.

^ Spoken by an obvious non-gamer.

You can't compare these hobbies. I mean, what's the point of a painting? What's the point of knitting? OK you get something you can wear/ hang on your wall, but the end product is not usually the reason people do those things.

They do them for the enjoyment of it, which is the exact same reason people play video games.

Video games are cognitively challenging, require logical and strategic thinking, fast reflexes - depending on the game you're playing they can require a plethora of different skills and abilities and they can be educational, too. It's not "like reading the same book for months".

There is nothing qualitatively better or worse about playing video games than any other hobby you listed.

The problems come when people (usually kids) are unable to regulate themselves, usually because their parents don't fully understand what they are doing.

Video games are appealing because they have bright colours and sounds, you get a dopamine hit when you complete a challenge/ level etc. - you do get that dopamine hit when you complete a painting or finish a book, too - but in video games, they come faster. That's why it is hard for children (and some adults) because there is a lot of pleasure involved.

That doesn't mean it's worse/ better than any other way to pass time - it just means you need a bit of awareness if you are prone to getting addicted to things.