Gaming

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?

Why do you care what other people/society thinks? Play/watch/read/do whatever you want. As long as you're not hurting anybody and you're enjoying yourself why would it matter

Saying you don't like playing video games is like saying you don't read books or watch cinema. It's its own medium.

Was about to say that there is no cutoff age. I distinctly remember my grandfather playing RPGs on the Super Nintendo when I was a kid. That man played most of his life and well into his older years. Do what you love to do man. Ignore those who don't appreciate that you have a hobby you actually enjoy.

There's no cut-off. You've just been unlucky with the women you've met.

They have no interest in it, therefor it's not a selling point for them. It's simply a missmatch of types.

I am 45, so I understand what you are talking about. The issue is not strictly age. One does not simply age out of video games. I think the issue is just that our particular age group and generation is sort of on the dividing line between two extremes. On one extreme are those that are older than us have never played video games because they didn't exist when they were kids. My older sister is just old enough that she never played video games because as they were created, they were created for kids my age and younger and therefore she had no interest. To her, they will always be kid things even though they are now developed to be appealing for all ages. On the other extreme are those a lot younger than us where basically everyone plays video games. Not very many of the younger generation gives up entirely on video games.

I predict that in 30 years, video games will be popular in nursing homes and retirement homes whereas currently, no one in that age group has much interest at all. By that time, the whole population will have been exposed to video games their whole life and that will make all the difference.

In the current oldest generation there is not much stigma to deal with because none of them had video games growing up, so there is very little interest. And in the youngest generation, there is very little stigma because everyone plays video games. Meanwhile, we will always be part of the generation where only some of us kids played video games - mostly boys, and mostly seen as the nerds if we stuck with it.

If they have issues with your hobbies they're not worth it. Who cares what you're into, if it doesn't negatively affect things, who the hell cares. My wife and I regularly game right next to each other and we're well past the "normal" age for gamers.

Anyone dating at 47 (assuming they are near your age) should be taking what they deal with. If gaming is a show stopper for them, I'm not sure I'd worry about them saying how shallow they are. Easy for me to say as I'm married, but I'm going to be 50 sooner then I'd like and while I don't game as much as I used to and I know things like WoW which entail a time commitment are not games I can play, but I still game some nights. Sometimes lots of nights.

Fuck em man, you do you.

I'm 33 and learned about PC gaming mostly from my grandfather when I was about 10. He had games like Jazz Jackrabbit, Jill of the Jungle, and other early era Sierra games. He also introduced me to Nethack for which I am eternally grateful! He continued playing games and using 3d rendering software until he lost his eyesight in his late 60s, and even then used a screen reader to use a computer for some other things. I think any cutoff age is going to be largely dependent on what social circles you're discussing and what area you're in.

I think it's generational. When I talk to folks about gaming in their early-mid 30's, the majority of them either also game, or at least don't think it's weird. Video games and board games too.

I think once you hit that rough age cutoff for millennials, late 30's-early 40's it seems video gaming and board gaming also largely falls off. At least that's been my experience.

My spouse and I are in our 30's and most of our peers game. Keep it up and never stop having fun!

I’m 62 year old woman I started playing at 38, in 1999. I play a lot and I have no intention on stopping. I have never met a potential partner that saw it as a negative, but I would never impose it on them or not be available for activities because I would prefer gaming.

Its dumb to call video games childish then go home and flip on love is blind or some shit like that.

There are heaps of old people (60+) who play Elite Dangerous and Stardew Valley. Never stop gaming just because of your age!

No cutoff. I'm also in my 40s. When we get put in the retirement homes, we're going to have huge LAN parties again.

You're looking at it from the wrong direction. It's what age is the cut off that gaming was the norm growing up, and therefore remains a part of the culture at any age. I'm 38 and most people I know, both men and women, are into some type of gaming. I feel I'm already fairly close to that line so if you're looking at just a decade ahead, you grew up in the 70s and early 80s when gaming was just truly making it's first rise. For my generation in the 1990s though it was almost an expectation of childhood and making friends. Looks like you have to start dating people in their 30s.

Just be open about how much you enjoy games. You wouldnt want to get into a relationship with someone who dislikes your interests anyway, right? Think of it as a way to filter out people who arent compatible.

No plans to ever stop gaming. Started at 7, now 48.

I like how Jack Black (age 53) puts it https://youtu.be/GNJtPFXUnm4

I'm only in my early 30s and have no intention of not playing video games because I hit a certain age. I think a lot about this old lady I used to follow on Twitter who would review JRPGs and how cool she is (unfortunately I stopped using Twitter and don't remember her handle). I think these days, it's less likely for it to be "weird", whereas I remember being a kid and hearing people say it was childish.

I don't think there is a cutoff.

My 80yo grandfather still pulls out the gamecube to play Mario Kart (and for a long time noone else could beat him). My grandmother before she passed was not really big on video games but would play one specific level of crash bandicoot over and over again.

My 45~yo mother streams minecraft in her free time and is even looking to start up a YouTube channel with more content. Some of her viewers are close to her age and when she was playing more Counter Strike than Minecraft the server she played on had adults of all ages on it.

I'm getting closer to 30 every year and I can't see myself ever quitting games. If/when I marry I imagine playing games will just be part of family bonding. I may get worse as I age like my grandfather but I doubt I'll ever stop.

I personally think it's only related to birth generation. For currently past 30 years old it was still pretty rare for people to game a lot. Now everyone has a smartphone and gaming is a big business. Also people past a certain age develop a level of "old people grumpiness" and this sticks to them in whatever they do. Some lost interest in hobbies and are seriously envious of people enjoying gaming instead of watching TV all day or gossiping with neighbors. I also believe current younger generstions are much more understanding of other people's life choices, less judging. Not long ago young marriage was the goal number one, for thousands of years. We're live in a fast changing age at the moment.

There's no drop off for gaming.

I would say it's not really an age thing. I mean age probably plays a role but ultimately it's just a hobby that is relatively common and not very exciting to an outsider.

This is definitely experienced by 20 year olds too. There is definitely a social pressure.

Based on this, 12% of people in your age bracket play video games, it's typically a roughly 50/50 split by gender. Not exactly a small amount. I think it's more that if you date 10 women, one will be a gamer and you've just not met that one.

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.

I'm 56 and play Minecraft and PUBG mobile.

As long as you're having fun I don't see why it should have an age limit.

Unless you're playing specifically children's games.

There shouldn't be a cutoff, of course. As the current demographic gets older, I bet the stigma will keep dying down. Sorry to hear about your difficulties, though.

I'm 48. I was dating five years ago, and now I'm married to a woman who doesn't play games at all. So I'll say this: when a date says "oh dear" or some such when you say you play games, that's a red flag. Even if they don't personally play, it's pretty shitty for a partner (or potential partner) to try to make you feel bad about about your hobbies. Absolutely fuck that noise. They don't have to like the same things, but it's a whole other situation for them to tell you it's dumb or wrong for you to like what you like. That goes double when you have kids and you play with them.

I play games, I draw, and I play D&D. Hell, I just bought a Steamdeck and am goingto build an arcade cabinet with my stepson. My wife does none of that, and it's super important to me that I not be shamed about my hobbies. I would never shame her about hers.

There is no age cutoff. The idea that fun things are childish is a stupid concept pushed by boring people on the rest of us because they don't know how to have fun anymore.

I feel like the socially acceptable cutoff is around your first corporate job where I live. After that people will say you are a geek

Hmm I don't think there is a cutoff necessarily but it doesn't surprise me many people currently in their late 40s wouldn't be much into them. I'm a 37/F myself and most of my friends play video games, but then again I'm part of a crowd of childless nerdy types. I guess it all just depends on the type of person you're hanging out with and what their lifestyle is all about. Women who play video games and are currently in their late 40s probably live a more alternative lifestyle in general.

I can totally see why back then, 40 years ago, they felt like it was discriminatory. It's like adding the word "Chinese" or "Russian" Infront of a product. Seeing that country name infront of product might reduce the amount of people that purchase the item. The initial feeling of discrimination can last for years, even if the word and the world outlook has moved on. It's not so easy to tell someone to forget it especially if you need to make money off of it for your livelihood. Of course some of those games are famous now a days, but if you had a rough start in your 20-30, you'll remember it for a long time.

I think it's a position that often comes from ignorance. Usually these people have no concept that games can involve high quality character and plot writing like Mass Effect, or teamwork focused gaming situations like MMO raids. They either never had any exposure to games or decided early on (usually in adolescence) that games weren't for them.

Ironically there's often a lot of overlap between game haters and people who spend more hours in front of the TV than most of us do gaming.

37 year old gamer here, time to start dating 20-somethings 😉

I think the older someone is the cooler they seem to me if I find out they game. It's why I like watching https://www.youtube.com/@Food4Dogs because its lot more interesting to get insight about gaming from people who are so much more knowledgeable and were around to actually experience lot of the progress and changes of technology over the years. And being open to new hobbies despite what their age group might say is something I respect.

Interesting question! For me it feels like both a social group and age-based thing. I know of a couple co-workers in their 30s / mid 40s who play video games and we’ll chat about games very occasionally. My ex’s friends were all mid-twenties folks and gaming was one of their multiple hobbies.

But in general, I wouldn’t bring video games up with the majority of my other co-workers, and certainly not during small talk with more-or-less strangers (chiropractor, barbers, etc), whereas every other hobby I’d be cool talking to strangers about. I think I’ve been socialized to feel like gaming is “immature” and only to be talked about with other people “in the know” so I don’t feel judged for enjoying it.

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.

I'm 51. I have house, wife, two kids and I run my own company. I could never, ever think about stop gaming. I've been doing this since the 80s. It's my hobby and my way to socialize and wind-down. It is my go-to when I need to get my mind off things. I'd be a literal wreck without it. I'm not ashamed of it and I will talk about it with anyone curious. Just like they might talk about sailing boats or golf trips. No difference.

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"

That is a really shitty and demeaning way to speak to someone. What the actual fuck? Very rude.
Have you ever tried to tell them that insulting someones hobbies isn't the best way to go about meeting people?