Hello and good day! Now that I have managed to pull myself away from the new expansion “Star Wars: The Old Republic Galactic Starfighter“, I would now like to address a few words to you.
Today’s topic: Prejudices against online role players.
I’m sure each of you has faced a similar situation in your youth: You are firmly scheduled for a raid group, have gathered necessary elixirs and buffs, and then you get a call from your real-life clique asking if you want to go to this or that party. It’s difficult to explain to these people briefly and clearly why you don’t have time, because you quickly receive the following response:
So you want to sit alone in front of the computer and play instead of doing something with us.
When this happens two or three times, rumors quickly spread in your circle of friends – especially during school years this happens often. Before you know it, you already have labels on your forehead like “computer nerd”, “lonely”, or even “antisocial”.
While the first term has evolved from an insult to a kind of recognition, the last two are quite hurtful. Most people who have not had any contact with online role-playing games know nothing about the subject at all.
It is true that we sit physically alone in front of the computer, but we are only rarely lonely while doing so. Almost always we are on our way in a group or with our guild and for longer sessions, we also communicate via TeamSpeak or Skype. “Lonely” is not something that can be attributed to a person, because whether I am lonely or not is decided by exactly one person – and that is myself.
I get inwardly angry when someone calls me “antisocial” because of my passion for online role-playing games, because these people obviously have not thought about the term they used for two reasons.
- First: I play with people. Just because I am not physically with other people does not mean the act is any less social. I would never think to label one of my good friends as “antisocial” because she spends hours on the phone instead of meeting someone.
- Second: The following may not be immediately obvious, but think about it. A rejection is social. A discussion is social and even ignoring another person is a social act because it takes place between people. Of course, this is one of my very personal definitions, but I firmly believe that a person can never be “antisocial” as long as they are part of a society – and that is not possible differently on Earth.
What do you think? What prejudices and accusations have you faced in your life because of your passion for computers? Let me know in the comments and give me suggestions for a new topic!
