Gaming: Why should age be a factor?

[KrimzonBlade]

I've just turned 18 and even before my birthday, my parents have constantly reminded me that "I'm too old for games". I really don't understand how age has anything to do with being a gamer. Gaming allows people to experience a ton of different worlds and concepts that can also be experienced together with others hence the MMO genre.

My dad was a gamer in his youth, and even to this day we enjoy a couple of games together. Though he's only good at fighting games like Tekken and Street Fighter I enjoy having the chance to play together. My mum seems to think games are solely for children, and any adult gamer is a sad person. She thinks they are overpriced even though games are becoming cheaper as of late. She doesn't see the cultural side of gaming either, how games have influenced our generation and how it will influence future generations.

So now I pose the question: what do you think about age and gaming? Is there an age when enough is enough? Or is it a hobby that we can enjoy long into our old age?

[FlavaFlave]

Gaming should be treated like any other hobby, whether it be toy collecting, stamp collecting, building models, etc. There's nothing wrong with it as long as you put your life, family and other priorities (bills, etc) first.

Speaking from experience, my parents used to love buying me games when I was young. They didn't really play them with me, but they treated it like any other "toy" I was interested in at the time such as Gi Joes and Transformers. When I left for college, my parents assumed I would leave my gaming hobby behind, and when I started coming home for breaks they would give me shit constantly about buying new games with whatever part time job I had at the time. Thing is, I got my studies done, I worked, and had a social life and gaming never interfered, but that wasn't something they could grasp.

In the end, as long as you keep your life straight there's nothing wrong with gaming at all. A bunch of my college buddies and I (we're in our 30's now) still game on a fairly regular basis and we all hold meaningful jobs and have families. Don't let your parents get to you... they just want the best for ya and they hear all the horror stories of idiot gamers going overboard, wasting their lives and moving back in the the parents at 30 and gaming in the basement.

[Drageuth]

My opinion is pretty much the same as FlavaFlave: as long as it doesn't take top priority in your life, there's no harm in it.

The only time it really is a problem is when it gets in the way of the rest of your life. Gaming should never be a priority over friends -- real life friends, not just people you play games with over the Internet -- or family, it should never be a priority over school, it should never be a priority over work, and it should never be placed ahead of house & home.

Really, it's just like any other hobby in that regard.

Also, I've found it rather helpful to never listen to other people in what you should/should not be interested in. Parents especially.

[KrimzonBlade]

See that's exactly what I don't get. Right now I have a full time job till uni starts and I hardly game as much as I used to. On my days off I usually arrange to meet up with friends. I only game in the evenings and even that's for maybe a few hours max, unlike my brother who's only 14 and plays minecraft from the moment he gets home from school to the moment he goes to bed, so that's 8 hours straight, no breaks. I don't understand why they think it's ok for him to no life a game but I can't enjoy a few games here and there :/

[Zaladane]

I don't see an issue. Loot at Sprung, hell he's in his 70's and plays games

[treos]

i don't see ageas much of a factor at all really. mostly i like to look at gaming from a learning point of view as if i wasn't so much of a gamer i probably wouldn't remember even half of what i learned in school... that said however, irl history bores the heck out of me and i don't care much for it but otherwise, yeah, i think i owe gaming a lot for helping me remember stuff like that.

reading, and math in particular are things you constantly use in just about any game ever made so it leaves me rather annoyed when people like school teachers (oh how i hate hearing this) tend to write off games as just that, games, and say how your not learning from them and they're just a waste of time or something similar to that.

[Iamerror]

I think that you're never too old to play games. I only play when I have free time; usually during school breaks. Playing games is how I learned basic math. I don't think there's anything wrong with playing games as an adult. When I talk about playing games at school, I get weird looks, but I don't care it's something that I enjoy.

[Fazermint]

It's strange how gaming is commonly seen as something for kids, when originally they were aimed at adult men. Thank you, media hypes ._.

[treos]

speaking of the media, that reminds me of something i don't like hearing in the news or wherever else. why is it people often drag videogames into the mess when talking about crimes and stuff on the news? videogames aren't the cause of some crimes like some people would like to believe would i be correct in assuming that can help give gamers a bad image?

[Kool Aid Man]

When I was growing up in the 80's most adults thought games were only for kids, but nowadays everyone plays them. I think the average age is like late 20's - early 30's. My grandma has no interest playing Call of Duty but loves to kick my ass in Wii Sports Resort. Is age a factor? Definitely not!

[Mr. Nemo]

The only time age is a factor is when they are below the age of six for mental health concerns. The same applies for TV as well, but neither are usually followed. After that, it is all based on how much time you spend playing videogames. More than 5 hours a day is a bit unhealthy pending the circumstances (for example, if your work has a lot of downtime and you play to pass the time).

Altogether it isn't a big deal until your body suffers from inactivity and your social life begins to crumble due to addiction. At least, that's my opinion on it.

[williamjones]

Well, normal boring people stop doing cool stuff they did as kids. So, your parents want you to have a boring normal person who gets into college and meets a girl. Heaven forbid if you play even one more game youll be an underachiever.

Why dont you just do it anyway though since youre an adult? My dad likes that I still play, his parents did the same to him your parents are doing to you. You need to say screw it and keep up the hobby.

[Curses]

Back in '08. I tried to quit video games, telling myself I was getting to old for them. Truthfully, I needed something different to devote my attention to. I started to notice girls more often and you can probably deduce the rest for yourselves. But here I am again, with a PS3.

So the way I look at it, if you are not too old to wank, you are not too old to game.

[Sprung]

Pfft. I'm 42 and I still wait in line at midnight to buy video games.

[Curses]

Pfft. I'm 42 and I still wait in line at midnight to buy video games.

Sprung to the missus in bed: "Hey, honeybunch, I'm just gonna pop out. < 3 Boy, are we gonna have a good time tonight!!! "

The missus: "Ooookay, Honey, I can't wait!

3 Hours later...

The missus: "Hi, honey!"

Sprung:




...OMG Double XP! Holy shit, RPG!

The missus: