What's the age cut off for socially acceptable gaming

So, hear me out.

I'm a 47 year old guy and I'm not ashamed to say that I enjoy video games. I always have, from playing Head over Heels on a Speccy +2 to ESO and Valorant on my self built PC.

Due to various life circumstances, I'm also on the dating scene and to most women I meet, around my age, video games are anathema. When I say that I like them it's usually meet with an "oh dear" or a "my son would probably love to talk to you about them, I find them really boring"

I have two boys, both teenagers, both play all the time and sometimes we all play together (although they are better as they have more time to apply to games). Their friends are amazed that I will talk about games with them, that I know someone about games and that I play games. None of their parents want to talk with them about what is effectively their main hobby that they do all the time (big sad).

So the question, there must be some sort of cut off age at which video games are no longer an acceptable pastime. Is it absolute age based (nothing after 35) or is it something to do with the progression of games into popular culture and people born after, say, 1986 will not see it as unacceptable?

I don't have an answer, I just think it's an interesting question. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

UziBobuzi,
UziBobuzi avatar

I'll be 59 this year and have been gaming since Pong. They'll pry my controller from my cold, dead fingers. Also, I'm a woman as is the circle I play with, who are also all older women (45+). We do exist and couldn't give a fuck about what society thinks about it.

Better gaming than just being a potato watching TV every spare minute with no other outlet.

Gaming's been shown to help prevent dementia because it keeps the brain active.

Consider that the women that you've been trying to date that don't appreciate gaming just aren't the right partner for you.

TIN,

I appreciate that, thank you! My ex could never work out why I preferred playing video games to a more mature activity like watching TV which always seemed like it was the wrong way round to me - at least I get to interact with my entertainment 😂

Asenath,
Asenath avatar

50 year old female, been playing video games since the Atari 2600. With the SO since 1996.

Methinks OP just needs to meet more women. There is no "cut off age at which video games are no longer an acceptable pastime".

TIN,

I think I need to meet more women as well 😂 but that's a different thread!

Ragnell,
Ragnell avatar

Gaming vs dementia isn't new. I started gaming on my greatgrandmother's atari system in the 80s, which was doctor recommended for her Alzheimers.

Hawne,
Hawne avatar

58 with a similar background (except that I'm a man) and I have no intention to stop.

I'm essentially a PC gamer but had a few game consoles too (until Dreamcast), which I ditched as soon as PCs were able to provide a decent platform for modern gaming. I'm a modder and occasionally a tweaker so I prefer having total control over my gaming environment than being restricted by a closed system console.

I love many game genres, my favorites being immersive open worlds and strategic action and stealth games (à la Ghost Recon Wildlands or Mass Effect) but I don't limit myself to those. Each genre brings its own amusement and interest, either honing your reflexes or challenging your cooperation skills or your memory.

And above all, gaming is fun!

There is no age cut off for enjoying challenging both your mind and reflexes, nor to have fun. And imho enjoying gaming at our ages is one of the many symptoms of still being a young soul.

Frog-Brawler, (edited )
Frog-Brawler avatar

It sounds like you're dating the wrong women. Why do you need to add someone that’s going to make judgements of you based on a hobby? Date people that improve your life; not make you question it.

Tashlan,
Tashlan avatar

I don't think there's an age cut off, I just think you got into the hobby when it was niche and your peers didn't. I'm an NES-generation video game player and I don't really know anyone my age who doesn't at least have a gamer in their household. On the other end, I don't know a single person who has a cable subscription.

raspberry_confetti,
raspberry_confetti avatar

Same and same

postscarce,

Agreed. Gaming has become a lot more acceptable over time and with younger generations. This is also true for the gender gap in gamers, which factors into the dating scene.

exohuman,
exohuman avatar

Agreed. Same here.

13zero,

Right. People who grew up with video games as a normal thing (30-35 or younger) think that video games are socially acceptable at any age.

People above that age probably have a “cutoff” of teens or 20s.

TIN,

Definitely something to be said for that "what was normal when you were young" view

I1l0o0l1I,

There's absolutely no age cut off for video games. I would even go further and say that more seniors should play video games.

But, I also wouldn't be too judgy with people who think video games are for kids. This is all thanks to decades of marketing. Atari, the first popular video game console, was sold along side TVs and other electronics and was targeted towards everyone. But then Nintendo decided to market their console as a toy, instead of a consumer electronics product. Also, they had to pick a "boy" vs "girl" aisle, and they picked "boy", which is why video games aren't seen as girly.

TIN,

That's a really interesting historical note about the toy aisles, thanks!

wintrparkgrl,

"what is the age cut off for socially acceptable fun having" is what I read. Do what you enjoy and anyone saying you shouldn't do X, or you are too old to do Y aren't the type of people I associate with. Just turned 30 and I never plan to stop.

NightOwl,

Same with music too. Some people just don't ever branch out to listen to new genres and keep listening to the oldies they did. Being open to new things instead of staying within the bubble of what peer groups says is acceptable seems the way to go to not become stagnant losing touch with what is going on in the world.

TIN,

That's a really interesting point about music and culture. Do you want to come along for the ride or did you get to your teens and cry "hold, enough"?

SpaceCadet2000,
SpaceCadet2000 avatar

I'm about your age (48) and game. I don't think there's a cut-off date as such, but it's a little bit of several things.

There is certainly a generational angle. When we were growing up in the 80s and early 90s, playing computer games was definitely not an activity targeted at adults, and gamers were generally seen as geeks and nerds. This changed of course, but other people who grew up at the same time as us but never got into games may still hang onto that image.

Gender also plays a role, women our age are a lot less likely to have ever been into games. My girlfriend for example has no problems with it but she never gamed herself and doesn't really understand it. If I think of female friends and acquaintances, I know only one woman who games as well, but she's already 8 years younger.

There's also the fact that many men do in fact grow out of gaming as they get older, start to have more responsibilities and less free time and when other interests and hobbies start to compete for that limited free time. I notice that in myself too, it's a lot less important to me now than it was 25 years ago.

Then there's the slightly uncomfortable fact that many women simply find it unattractive when a man lists gaming as a hobby, and see it as a red flag, perhaps because they associate it with certain stereotypes of people who are obsessive about it and whose whole personality revolves around gaming, perhaps because they have previous bad experiences with it, or perhaps because it's something they simply can't relate with. Maybe gamers are to women what "horse girls" are to men? :)

I think the best way to handle it on the dating scene is to show that you're a functioning adult with a well rounded personality and a variety of interests, who just happens to game as well. At the end of the day, you have to have enough common ground to start a relationship with someone.

EmptyRadar,
EmptyRadar avatar

Back in the ancient Greek era there were people worried that printed books were going to rot peoples' minds because they would just be absorbed in them 24/7.

Do what you wanna do, dude.

Goopadrew,
Goopadrew avatar

That's like the main plot of Don Quixote: he read too many books about knights in shining armor saving princesses (essentially the soap operas of their time) that he went crazy and started believing he was one of those galliant heroes

Obsydian_Falcon,

Not anywhere near your age, but I believe that you honestly don't need to pay attention to any kind of "cutoff" age for video games. At your age, people don't really get to dictate how interesting your hobbies are to you, you're an adult with children, and your interests are your own. If playing games is a dealbreaker for women, then it's really just the tip of the iceberg of problems a relationship with her might have. There is no cutoff for liking the things you like, and if people aren't adult enough to see that, you can move on from them.

cupcakezealot,
@cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

So the question, there must be some sort of cut off age at which video games are no longer an acceptable pastime.

When you no longer enjoy it

SpikesOtherDog,

Do what you want!

Assuming you aren’t ignoring other obligations, gaming is completely acceptable.

Anything else is pretentious.

waffles,

Do what you want. I'll play until I'm dead.

Rozz,

It's becoming more accepted. I have a few friends in their 40s who are the biggest gamers I know. You may be on the edge of what might be seen as an "acceptable " age, but it is very common for adults. I can see how dating might bring out the judgement in some people, but you shouldn't have to repress that part of yourself, especially since you do it with your kids. As it becomes more and more common many people won't stop doing something they loved doing their whole lives.

varzaman,

There is zero age cutoff. Absolutely none.

I think what you are experiencing is a generational cut off, from people born before certain time where video games hasn't permeated into pop culture long enough.

sojourn,

When you get bored lol

Gazelli,

I've got 20 years on you and I don't see an end to my gaming days anytime soon.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • gaming@beehaw.org
  • cubers
  • Youngstown
  • ngwrru68w68
  • ethstaker
  • slotface
  • PowerRangers
  • hgfsjryuu7
  • khanakhh
  • kavyap
  • tsrsr
  • InstantRegret
  • DreamBathrooms
  • mdbf
  • magazineikmin
  • Leos
  • rosin
  • tacticalgear
  • thenastyranch
  • Durango
  • osvaldo12
  • vwfavf
  • modclub
  • everett
  • GTA5RPClips
  • cisconetworking
  • normalnudes
  • tester
  • anitta
  • All magazines
    •