Gamers have always been subjected to all kinds of misconceptions regarding their life style. Most of the times they are labeled as anti-social beings who spend their lives crammed in their mother’s basement surviving solely on Mountain Dew and Doritos. Of course, many of these stories are urban myths and in what follows we’ll debunk 10 of the most common things that non-gamers get totally wrong about gamers.
Gamers are Morbidly Obese
The myth of the morbidly obese WoW player is so wide-spread in the pop culture medium that it’s impossible to ignore it and while it does have a real basis, not all gamers are part of this stereotype. In fact, the players that are part of a major league need to stay in shape, hydrate and eat properly to be able to endure the stress of competitions. So, once again, a popular myth about gamers gets busted by actual facts.
Gamers are Anti-Social
While there are a ton of single player games on the market, a significant number of gamers prefer to engage in multiplayer sessions where they can socialize with other people, join group chats and complete quests together. In addition to these, competitive games such as League of Legends or Call of Duty are always played with a team, so the fact that gamers are anti-social beings is kind of outdated.
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Gamers are Jobless Creepy People
The iconic image of the Dorito eating gamer that spends his whole life in his mother’s basement is the most common misconception society has about people who enjoy playing video games. All these ideas could not be further from the truth, because gamers can be hard working individuals who simply prefer to relax in a different way. As for the “creepy” part, it is such a judgmental idea that it doesn’t even deserve our attention.
Gamers Can’t Raise a Family
Playing video games is an activity often associated with being irresponsible and not having a life, thus being unable to raise a family. The truth is that everyone has different priorities and while there are isolated cases of parents who neglected their children to play some addictive game, this is not a general truth. In fact, many famous streamers raise and educate their children just like the next person, so complaining about video games having a negative influence is simply not fair.
Gamers Don’t Learn Anything from Games
Even the most mindless video game can teach you something if you are interested in finding information in the most obscure of places. Not to mention titles like Sid Meyer’s Civilization or Hearts of Iron that can very easily teach us a history lesson every time we start a new game, so the fact that gamers learn nothing from their playtime sessions is not that accurate. A better attention span, enhanced reflexes and improved memory being some other benefits that are associated with playing video games.
Gamers Waste Their Life
Yet another common misunderstanding about a gamer’s life is that it gets wasted away, playing the whole time and not actually living in reality. Of course, there are extreme cases when people forget to step away from the computer and spend their days gaming and nothing else, but it would be a mistake to think that this happens to all the people who enjoy playing a couple of matches. Not to mention the professional gamers who actually make a living out of playing video games.
Female Gamers are Fake
Because video games have become such a popular medium in the past several years, more and more people found out that streaming is a pretty good way of earning money. In the myriad of online entertainers that make a living out of playing video games there are also fake ones that are using all kinds of hacks or schemes to trick the public. A grand majority of them are attractive women who pretend to play games but it would be a mistake to say that female gamers are all fake by default.
Only Children play Video Games
Nowadays, games are more than just jumping on platforms and completing puzzles, many of them even come with a specific rating based on the maturity of the content they offer. Other games focus on intricate plotlines that are meant to be understood by a mature person so the argument that gamers have a childish mind simply does not stand. Being an ever-evolving medium, gaming is speaking to a wider audience each passing day, increasing its influence as an entertainment product for all to enjoy.
Gamers are Violent People
Many people think that video games are all about killing and doing violent things and while this may be true for some of the titles, the strategy, coordination and team work involved are excellent examples of cognitive training and situation simulation. Besides, there are so many gaming titles that don’t imply shooting or fighting that it’s downright ridiculous to assume a person is becoming violent because he or she is playing too many video games.
Gamers are Out of Touch with Reality
Some of the most common misconceptions about gamers include theories about how they are people who are trying to escape reality, taking the roles of elves, spacemen or even mutants, because they are bored and unhappy with their normal lives. The fact that a video game is so immersive that it makes you feel like you are part of its universe doesn’t mean that you are losing your grip on reality, it’s just that you enjoy it immensely, like with a good book or a catchy movie, but in this case, it is an interactive medium with a lot more to offer.