by Matt Maerowitz

Created on: June 23, 2008

According to a recent Nielsen Entertainment Active Gamer Benchmark Study, there are about 117 million active gamers. Whether you are a gamer or not, it is important to come to grips with how much influence gaming has on our society. Several people see gaming as an unproductive waste of time. Even worse, many look down upon those who engage in gaming. Instead, gaming needs to be thought of as a valid form of leisure. Fortunately, many people do appreciate the ability for gaming to provide a legitimate form of entertainment; the hundreds of millions of gamers around the world prove this point. At the same time, I have met so many people over the years that simply refuse to understand how people can enjoy gaming.

My father is one of many examples of non-gamers who do not understand the satisfaction people derive from gaming. He has never played a video game in his life and refuses to even give them a chance. He has always been that type of person who has tried to get his kids off of playing video games whenever he possibly could even though the games my siblings and I played were often not your typical violent video game. For one reason or another, he would much prefer us watch a movie or something as long as it did not involve gaming. This view seems to neglect the importance of gaming as an important form of entertainment.

I have no problem with people who do not enjoy gaming. It is important to respect the fact that people find different activities entertaining. At the same time it is important for all people to respect the fact that many people enjoy gaming as a leisure activity. There is nothing wrong with this preference just like I respect the fact that many people prefer to watch movies, play sports or watch soap operas as a form of entertainment.

I by no means am arguing that everybody has to play and enjoy video games just like everybody does not enjoy movies, sports, or other forms of entertainment. However, video games have always carried an unusual distinction in our society. From the perspective of many non-gamers, the gaming community has often been frowned upon. People need to recognize that gaming is an important part of our society and will continue to be so. People need to respect the fact that some people enjoy gaming just like others enjoy movies. Gaming is just one of many forms of entertainment and more people should treat it as such.

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