Like any hobby, if you get obsessive about it, then you start to look like "a loser". I've seen people call gym rats, or dirtbike fanatics, or hunters, losers because outside of lifting weights/tinkering with their bikes/shooting shit, they don't do a damn thing. Same thing with video games. Gotta have layers.
Even then, playing games a lot wouldn't make someone a loser to everybody. They'd fit right in with other people who play lots of videogames and then there's no worries.
Well I don't agree as far as video games being an inherent loser hobby, and anyone who sees you as a loser for playing games is not worth your time to begin with.
I think however that just as any other hobby that can eat up a lot of time, video games have the potential to hamper social skills just from lack of practice. You just have to moderate and make sure you get some of both in your free time.
Anything can make you a loser as being a loser can largely be in the eye of the beholder. However, if you are a stoner who have no drive and you only play video games instead of taking care of yourself or your family then yes....you are a loser. However, the same can come about from anything not specifically video games.
Hey bros this nerd loser actually plays videos games!
But seriously in this day and age games are just like movies, tv and music. Everything in moderation. If for example all you did was stay inside and listen to music all day every day and do nothing else you would also be considered a loser.
Play games that are practically books. Not particularly wordy, mind you, but just as intellectual as some of the classics. I find Stanley's Parable, for example, to be an intellectually stimulating experience, and part of that is what makes the game so great to me. There's a good bit out there these days. You should be all like "Who's socially inept now?" if video games are ever brought up as a hobby for losers.
Is what you are doing fun, and is it hurting anyone? If the answer to the first question is yes, and to the second is no, then keep doing it, and to hell with what anyone else thinks.
If they're that judgemental about something as innocuous as a hobby, then you probably don't want to socialise with them anyway. And if they're strangers, then whatever; rock that DS on the bus. I'm not saying I don't ever think it's weird that I'm a grown ass man playing Animal Crossing or Pokemon in public, but the truth is I am weird. And so is everyone else. Growing up with Asperger's Syndrome, it was very important for me to learn as an awkward adolescent that most people aren't paying anywhere near as much attention to you as you might think they are, and they're not constantly judging you, and even if they are it doesn't matter. The same principle applies to everyone.
Being who you are is difficult sometimes, but it's waaaay better than being the person you think other people think you should be.
@unilad Just do what you enjoy, and dont worry about what others think. If someone judges on a hobby you enjoy/and is harmless then they are not worth you're concerns :)
I know plenty of people who are successful who play video games, however, if you feel like they're harmful to your career or future you can stop playing them.
But also, I think being embarrassed about playing video games is really weird. Its a hobby and pastime and like any other moderating interest and time investment is important. Being embarassed about it only makes the situation worse really. In any situation I've been in where the question, "Do you play video games?" has been asked responding positively and confidently almost always resulted in a positive outlook by the person asking.
So no, video games don't make you a loser, you make you a loser.
My girlfriend and I live with her sister. Her sister talks shit about me playing games and reading the internet all evening after I get home from work. She works very minimal hours and watches trashy "reality" TV on MTV for 12-15 hours straight most days. Who's the one who's a loser?
So the trashy sister owns the house you live in? Well, in that case your the loser for sure.
If Video games are all you do in your life and you have no social life once ever than yes but, that could be said about any hobby
At least around the chicagoland area that stigma has really warn off with so many "bro games" like call of duty people don't view video games lowly anymore and has opened up all other video games as just a form of entertainment not really a nerd/loser thing.
In general if you actually care what people thing of you for playing video games you are a loser.
OP, you shouldn't care what people say or think about you. If they think you're a loser, that's on them, not you, and if you let it get to you, then it'll prove them right. I've been called all sorts of things, especially online, for the sole reason that I'm female and I play video games. I just brush it all off, because what's it to them what I do in my spare time? I have a husband, a great job, a paid-for house, and I'M the loser? Highly unlikely.
I don't think any one thing can define an individual as a "loser." One's approach to certain aspects of their life, such as socialization, hygiene, ambitions, hobbies, sense of identity, and all that life encompasses come together to form how any decent human being views that person. Of course, even after that, it's still subject to the eye of the beholder. Ultimately, the only thing one can know for sure is how they feel about themselves (and that, alone, can be pretty difficult to figure out), so if it bugs you, the only thing you can do is change yourself. Whether that means learning to not give a shit about what those who don't take the time to get to know you think, or learning to change your own habits to adhere to what you believe is socially acceptable, or whatever other solutions there may be is up to the individual. And, again, this kind of applies to all aspects of life, not just vidya gamez.
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