We almost all laughed at you for playing

Almost all of you smiled for playing.

Video games are a wonderful pastime with which we have fun, get rid of frustration or cultivate friendships – we don’t need to explain it to you. But most of us have had one or two negative experiences with it, especially because other people smiled at us for our hobby or called it a waste of time.

In our survey, we wanted to know what experiences the GamePro community has had here. And it turns out most of you have a story or two to share.

Many of you have been ashamed to play

In all 2,623 (as of August 28) of you have voted in our poll and made it clear if you’ve ever been smiled for your hobby:

• Yes (85%, 2,233 votes)
• No (15%, 390 votes)

85% is of course a damn high number. This shows that video games are still not fully accepted, although the situation has improved in recent years, as you also note in the comments. Many of you still remember terms like “killer games” all too well, but some of you also had to defend your hobby to loved ones.

More surveys on GamePro.de:

• Nephi: “As a person with a disability, I have often been asked by so-called social pedagogues from various institutions if I have a problem with gambling addiction when the topic has come up. This seems to be a common misconception, especially if you play still when you’re over 25.”
• prosumer: “I’m glad the days of the mid-90s are over when gaming wasn’t as socially recognized as it is today. Sometimes it was seen as ‘kid stuff’ and then diabolical “killer games” 😉 In the meantime, the gaming community has grown so much and there are gamers in all age groups that there is no longer any criticism in my entourage”
• Gerdti: “Yes, I was made fun of, less for the game than for what I play, which is among other things the farm simulator. When I say that, I like to make people laugh, not just smiles. Otherwise, I like to play on the easiest difficulty level, which has been made fun of before.”
• Anubis1744: “I hear a lot about it, but I’m 39 and I’ve never been smiled at for my hobbies. My dad didn’t like gaming, but he bought me a Nintendo NES and later a PS2. “
• Phoenix-2K: “Two of my best friends and my wife had absolutely nothing to do with games, they also smiled at the hobby. My wife and I are playing games together today…! It Takes Two, Divinity – Original Sin 2, Zelda…”
• berny1962: “I was often smiled at there. Many of all the relatives too. As I will soon be 60 years old, I was exotic for most people. But my own children and also my nieces and nephews always had someone ‘one to talk to about his young years. :-)”

As always, thank you for your many entries and for sharing your stories!