Today is another day where I feel intense annoyance and really want to start being my usual judgmental self. Alas, in order to change one’s patterns, one has to do the opposite of what comes naturally. Hence, I am going to blog about gamers! 
I think that gamers are really getting the wrong rep, and I am willing to debunk some common perceptions about them. First of all, I AM a gamer. I have been playing World of Warcraft for about five years and I own every console known to man. I sometimes use gaming for the good, namely when I do cardio on my Wii Fit, but most of the time I game to relax. And no, I am not addicted to any game and I would not ever choose a game over human contact, or spending time with my husband!
Gamers are often considered losers. People often have this image of some nerdy creature (yes, this one is correct), who sits isolated in a room, forgetting about the outside world. I know a ton of gamers. Hell, I currently work for a gaming company and am surrounded by entire thralls of geeks and nerds. I can honestly say that the vast majority of gamers are anything but losers without a life. Depending on what game one plays, there are certain personality traits we do share. For example, most of us do have an appreciation for beautiful graphics, nice story lines and the ability to be taken to another, parallel universe that has absolutely nothing to do with our real lives. Some, namely those who predominantly play first-person shooter games, tend to favor action, decent hand and eye coordination and fast reaction times. But all of us like gaming because it affords us the ability to wander off into another world for a while. And especially for those of us who do have a hard time shutting their heads off, this is a good way to relax and “let go.”
Yes, I have met people who are totally addicted to gaming. I have met those who prefer their game over hanging out with real people, those who actually care more about gaming than their partners and those who actually forget anything else around them and make their game their number one priority. But then, I would argue that anything can become an addiction. Some people drink, some do drugs, others are addicted to TV, some are workaholics and others game. Anything can be overdone and most things can be harmful when abused; this goes for gaming too.
I think it does require a certain type of person to like gaming. I know numerous people who would never have the patience or interest and don’t understand at all how anyone can sit around playing a game for numerous hours. To me it is no different than watching a movie, or reading fiction, and to me it does qualify as entertainment. Namely cheap and harmless entertainment.
I came to realize that often those of us who are different, or enjoy activities that are not so mainstream, are usually either made fun of or get ridiculed. With gaming it’s a bit different these days because so many people are gamers, including very successful people, that there really isn’t a big stigma anymore. Personally, I am very proud of my geekish ways. There could have been worse things I could have gotten into besides games. And I do not think that I even remotely fit the image of some loser, who has no friends and needs to drown her sorry existence by escaping into the imaginary world of a computer or video game. So, in the spirit of my geekish ways and for my fellow guildies “For the Horde!”
Tags: gamer
