Gaming has shed its geeky image to become a ‘cool’ hobby

By Darren Allan

A new survey on gaming carried out by Dell (the firm which makes Alienware machines) has found that the pastime is no longer the domain of geeks, and is now considered to be a ‘cool’ pursuit – and one that can develop useful real-life skills.

Gone are the days when the gamer was typically considered to be a loner teenager locked in his or her bedroom, and the very label ‘gamer’ was tied closely to the concept of geekery.

The global survey (which encompassed nearly 6,000 videogame players across 11 countries) showed that gamers are now your co-workers, siblings or friends, and that fewer than 10% of respondents felt embarrassed, judged or guilty of some childish crime to be called a ‘gamer’.

Indeed, gamer is now considered a positive term, with 35% of respondents equating it to ‘fun’, 29% considering it to be ‘cool’ in terms of a hobby, and 26% labelling it ‘exciting’.

The popularity of esports and social media is helping to spread the word about how enjoyable gaming can be, and gamers are now less shy about sharing their passion with others, with a quarter of respondents having introduced five or more people to the hobby.

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Source:: techradar.com – Gaming