I started writing for BadFive around 3 years ago. Since that time, I have familiarised myself with Twitter and the gaming culture of recent years. I have seen certain things that range from childish to downright disturbing. Modern gaming culture, especially in combination with social media, has people falling in a cycle of depression and time-wasting of epic proportions.
Without further ado, here are some of the things that I believe lead to the bastardisation of gamer and gaming culture.
THE SEX
I am talking, of course, about the oversexualisation of everything that has to do with games. New character reveal for ‘Super Smash Bros.’? It won’t take long for thousands of gamers on Twitter or other forms of social media to describe in graphic detail how much they want to have sex with that character. Two male characters in a game? Better get ready for the horde of people drawing homosexual art and forming their own love stories for those characters. Bonus points if the characters involved are from game franchises geared towards children. A lot of these things are the result of social media trends. People weren’t so quick to write “F*** me daddy” about a children’s video game character in a public forum 15 years ago.
THE DEPRESSION
I follow a lot of gamers and journalists of gaming and entertainment websites. A common theme amongst all of them? Depression and mental health issues. The fact of the matter is, being on Twitter 12-14 hours a day can take its toll. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but people online are not the kindest bunch. This will either cause some form of alteration to your mental health or worsen anything you’re currently going through. Having your livelihood depend on social media is a terrible thing. Surrounding yourself with negativity and a culture rooted deep in depression doesn’t help. Gaming culture in recent years is sailing towards depression. Being a fan is good, but when the only thing that gives your day meaning is a new game announcement from a mega-corporation on Twitter, it’s time to break out of the gaming echo chamber and find help or someone to make you happy again.
THE ADULTING
I’ve always taken pride in the fact that I can be a functioning adult and enjoy games at the same time. I’ve taken pride in that, silently. The same cannot be said for gaming culture nowadays. Gamers today can’t wait to tweet about how they ate a decent meal, cooked dinner, went on a date with their partner, cleaned their apartment or paid their bills. More and more people seem to follow the trend of ‘adulting’. This holds true especially on Twitter. What’s the common interest of these people? Gaming. In my opinion, gaming should not be associated with being childish. Just like an adult can enjoy ‘Toy Story’ with their kids without acting like one, a gamer should be able to do the same. ‘Adulting’, as much as I hate saying that word, is a product of the modern gamer overusing social media and losing themselves in a sea of people that can’t seem to grow up. You’re supposed to be an adult that can have fun, switch off at times. Not the other way around.
THE WOKE GAME DEVELOPERS
We’ve all seen this. The game developers that didn’t mind putting large-breasted semi-nude women in their games in 1998 but act like they’re better than each and every one of their fans for giving their characters a breast reduction and functional clothing. We can do less with the ‘holier than thou’ attitude from game developers that try to pull a complete 180 and try to convince us that deep down they were always progressive. J.K Rowling is not an example you should follow, Ed Boon. Subtlety is the key and finding middle ground is always best.
THE DRAMA
This one is self-explanatory. The drama surrounding popular gaming YouTube channels or websites can be extremely tiring and at times unavoidable. Especially if your job depends on Twitter. Thousands of people wasting their time on minute events that will be forgotten about in a day. It’s unhealthy and unfortunate that so many people waste their time on such small “controversies”, degrading their mental health when the world around them has much more serious issues that should be dealt with. Who cares about YouTuber rivalries and arguments. Avoid that and you will be happier, healthier and with a hell of a lot more time in your hands.
Do you agree with me? Is social media creating a bubble of gamer culture that sucks people in, wastes their time and hurts their wellbeing? Let me know in the comments below.