Why do people tell gamers we are "wasting our time on games". But...

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edited 22nd Jul '14 3:51:07 PM by Earth001

Elitism, basically.

They're all either a waste of time, or none of them are.

There is nothing that makes video games any more special. In fact, they very often are the opposite, as they give you hand-coordination skills, as well as often require you to think more about your actions.

Just ignore them. They're wrong.

And that's just the gameplay. Some have a story as powerful and compelling as any film or novel.

Extra Credits has said much about the good games do. They're a little more dangerous than other media because they're highly engaging, and therefore more likely to be addictive, but as ling as they don't consume your life, they can be a part of a well-rounded person's experiences.

Because new media. People said the same things about television when it was starting to be a thing (and still do, kinda) and people aid the same for film when it was new, and even fiction books.

People never want to accept that there's a new way to entertain oneself, really.

Television is in a way more like wasting time than gaming is- it's a passive medium. Games require the player to think and act reflexively, to fully participate. Cinema is a passive medium too, I guess, but at least once the film ends you leave the theatre. With TV, you can just keep on watching, sit there and veg out, maybe flicking channels every now and then to find something better or avoid the ads (I personally can't stand to watch them half the time myself, don't know about anyone else). Books and the radio/spoken word at least leave something to the imagination, requiring something on the part of the reader/listener.

Disclaimer: I am not suggesting all television is a waste of time, of course; I am just comparing the different forms of media.

Games tend to take more time. A movie is 1-3 hours, while a typical game is something like 8-70 hours, not counting multi-player or sandbox games which essentially last until the player gets sick of it. And unlike TV shows which naturally pace themselves with cliffhangers every week and whatnot, you can usually sit down immediately and play a new game forever, or until you need to do something else. I'd say they're quite different media in that sense.

Personally though, I'd compare them more to sports. Those are also wastes of time, in a literally sense.

why do people people

because people are usually stupid as fuck

seriously most "why do...." questions can be answered with that.

Yes, it's funny how people say that gamers waste their time on games, but those same people are logically wasting their time on television, movies, and reading. Have you heard of the proverb, "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones"? People would do well to think carefully before they throw accusations without thinking.

We're not wasting our time playing games, they're wasting theirs by not playing them.

Complaining about people who complain.

Locking.