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What is real life?; How do you define what is virtual?
Topic Started: Aug 6 2009, 04:48 AM (70 Views)
Zoid	Aug 6 2009, 04:48 AM Post #1
Coppersmith Posts: 78 Group: Members Member #234 Joined: Jul 1, 2009	I've been thinking about this recently in relation to how I keep in touch with my friends from college. We play games together online, that's what we do since we're all several hundred miles apart, at the minimum. We played together in college as well when we were only a few dozen yards from each other. Would this be considered "having a life" or not? People love to make the generalization that those who play video games a lot have no "lives" and live in mom's basement. The friends that I play with are about half married (that is, half of us are married, myself included) and have good careers and such (one works for the CIA, another is a lawyer, I'm about 6 months from completing a Ph D in Physics). Is having a life going to movies? Is it going out to clubs and dancing with random people? Is it going to bars with your friends and getting drunk? If yes to any of the above, what makes that better than gaming? Why is going to a movie with a friend better than getting together with a friend for a game of Contra? Why is bumping and grinding with random strangers better than PuGging an instance in World of Warcraft? Why is getting drunk with your friends better than getting frags? The most common argument I hear is that gamers don't get laid, but I see in my circle of friends that many of us are married and so the standard definition of "having a life" wouldn't result in any more fornication than currently occurs. So then the question still stands, why is gaming not considered "having a life?"



MoFo	Aug 6 2009, 06:21 AM Post #2
Goldbeater Posts: 215 Group: Members Member #155 Joined: Mar 4, 2009	"Having a life" is just having social contact with other people and the world around you imo. I agree that you can socialize and have as much contact with other people online but the face to face factor when socializing is seen as so much more compared to contact through a screen, to most people anyway. Gaming does not mean you do not "have a life" at all as long as you do more than just gaming, again imo. Same is if all i did was work and stay home and hang out with my girlfriend. My friends would say i dont have a life because i dont socialize with them.



Mhuahaha	Aug 6 2009, 03:26 PM Post #3
Herder Posts: 2,712 Group: Forum Admins Member #1 Joined: Nov 21, 2008	I think you always have a life if you're alive. How you choose to fill in the time that life allows you...is what defines how much of a life you have. I think the morally acceptable norm pretty much is....if you play the same game all day long and don't interact with people whilst you're able to percept them with all your senses.....you don't have a life. Another norm, but less used is probably, if you do the same thing all day long you have no life. The real definition is "If you don't do what I do you don't have a life."
Don't ask.... I AM MERELY A FORUM ADMIN. I HAVE NO IN-GAME POWERS.


Zoid	Aug 6 2009, 04:59 PM Post #4
Coppersmith Posts: 78 Group: Members Member #234 Joined: Jul 1, 2009	Mhuahaha Aug 6 2009, 03:26 PM The real definition is "If you don't do what I do you don't have a life." Exactly, that's what gets to me. I've known a LOT of people (mostly women) who absolutely hated our dorm Halo sessions in which we were all in the same room or at least within shouting distance of one another, but they were huge fans of watching movies (which are even less social, since it's considered rude to talk during a movie). It's almost a corollary to the statement "anyone worse than me (at whatever game you're playing) is a noob and anyone better than me has no life."



ovesh	Aug 6 2009, 07:01 PM Post #5
king of the world Posts: 993 Group: Members Member #43 Joined: Nov 29, 2008	movies are 1-3 hours normally people who play games (me included) play much longer then that. There was a time when I would skip school for a week and play FM (football manager) the whole time. It all depends who much you do a certain activity.
I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness. We live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand.


Smekkie	Aug 23 2009, 07:02 PM Post #6
Pursemaker Posts: 60 Group: Members Member #215 Joined: May 10, 2009	It's my life, and you don't decide if I have a live or not. I'm having fun, and that is all what matters! It's about experiencing life! As long as you're not addicted to something. Maybe a bit bumpy orso. Edited by Smekkie, Aug 23 2009, 07:12 PM.
Once Justice League, Always Justice League.


1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)

What is real life?; How do you define what is virtual?

Topic Started: Aug 6 2009, 04:48 AM (70 Views)

Zoid

Aug 6 2009, 04:48 AM Post #1

Coppersmith

Posts:: 78
Group:: Members
Member: #234
Joined:: Jul 1, 2009

I've been thinking about this recently in relation to how I keep in touch with my friends from college. We play games together online, that's what we do since we're all several hundred miles apart, at the minimum. We played together in college as well when we were only a few dozen yards from each other.

Would this be considered "having a life" or not? People love to make the generalization that those who play video games a lot have no "lives" and live in mom's basement. The friends that I play with are about half married (that is, half of us are married, myself included) and have good careers and such (one works for the CIA, another is a lawyer, I'm about 6 months from completing a Ph D in Physics).

Is having a life going to movies? Is it going out to clubs and dancing with random people? Is it going to bars with your friends and getting drunk? If yes to any of the above, what makes that better than gaming? Why is going to a movie with a friend better than getting together with a friend for a game of Contra? Why is bumping and grinding with random strangers better than PuGging an instance in World of Warcraft? Why is getting drunk with your friends better than getting frags?

The most common argument I hear is that gamers don't get laid, but I see in my circle of friends that many of us are married and so the standard definition of "having a life" wouldn't result in any more fornication than currently occurs.

So then the question still stands, why is gaming not considered "having a life?"

MoFo

Aug 6 2009, 06:21 AM Post #2

Goldbeater

Posts:: 215
Group:: Members
Member: #155
Joined:: Mar 4, 2009

"Having a life" is just having social contact with other people and the world around you imo. I agree that you can socialize and have as much contact with other people online but the face to face factor when socializing is seen as so much more compared to contact through a screen, to most people anyway.

Gaming does not mean you do not "have a life" at all as long as you do more than just gaming, again imo. Same is if all i did was work and stay home and hang out with my girlfriend. My friends would say i dont have a life because i dont socialize with them.

Mhuahaha

Aug 6 2009, 03:26 PM Post #3

Herder

Posts:: 2,712
Group:: Forum Admins
Member: #1
Joined:: Nov 21, 2008

I think you always have a life if you're alive. How you choose to fill in the time that life allows you...is what defines how much of a life you have. I think the morally acceptable norm pretty much is....if you play the same game all day long and don't interact with people whilst you're able to percept them with all your senses.....you don't have a life. Another norm, but less used is probably, if you do the same thing all day long you have no life.

The real definition is "If you don't do what I do you don't have a life."

Don't ask....

I AM MERELY A FORUM ADMIN. I HAVE NO IN-GAME POWERS.

Zoid

Aug 6 2009, 04:59 PM Post #4

Coppersmith

Posts:: 78
Group:: Members
Member: #234
Joined:: Jul 1, 2009

Mhuahaha
Aug 6 2009, 03:26 PM

The real definition is "If you don't do what I do you don't have a life."

Exactly, that's what gets to me. I've known a LOT of people (mostly women) who absolutely hated our dorm Halo sessions in which we were all in the same room or at least within shouting distance of one another, but they were huge fans of watching movies (which are even less social, since it's considered rude to talk during a movie).

It's almost a corollary to the statement "anyone worse than me (at whatever game you're playing) is a noob and anyone better than me has no life."

ovesh

Aug 6 2009, 07:01 PM Post #5

king of the world

Posts:: 993
Group:: Members
Member: #43
Joined:: Nov 29, 2008

movies are 1-3 hours normally people who play games (me included) play much longer then that. There was a time when I would skip school for a week and play FM (football manager) the whole time. It all depends who much you do a certain activity.

I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

We live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police.

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand.

Smekkie

Aug 23 2009, 07:02 PM Post #6

Pursemaker

Posts:: 60
Group:: Members
Member: #215
Joined:: May 10, 2009

It's my life, and you don't decide if I have a live or not.
I'm having fun, and that is all what matters!

It's about experiencing life!

As long as you're not addicted to something.

Maybe a bit bumpy orso.

Edited by Smekkie, Aug 23 2009, 07:12 PM.

Once Justice League, Always Justice League.

1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)