1. #1
    The Insane DrakeWurrum's Avatar
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    Statistics - Employed people who game

    I'm not sure if I should stick this in the Video Games sub-forum or not, but I figure since I'm not really discussing a video game, per se, it fits better here.

    Basically, I'm tired of preconceived notions among friends and family (and perhaps the internet in general, but whatever) in regards to playing video games. It seems a large number of people are firmly in the belief that one cannot maintain employment and also play video games on the side. Certainly, it could be said that when one is employed, they'd have less time to game than when unemployed, but that's true of any leisure activity, whether it's watching TV, playing football, reading a book, or playing with and walking your dogs (the latter three of which, I'm sure, most non-gamers would immediately agree are "healthy" activities). So it's really a ridiculous thing to say.

    It's pretty obvious that, if you want to also make time for time with loved ones (whether you're married or simply dating somebody), exercise to keep in shape, keep your house/apartment looking somewhat clean, keep food stocked, etc etc... all the "normal" stuff, you're not going to have as much time to game. But again, same is true of reading, watching TV, playing "normal" games, etc etc. Equally ridiculous of an argument.

    So rather than do the same thing as the people holding said opinions... I'd rather have some statistics. Not just random made-up statistics, obviously, but stuff based on actual scientific processes or surveys. Something in the ballpark of an estimated number of employed people, if not around the world, at least in America, who play video games for several hours of their spare time.

    I haven't succeeded in coming up with such information through Google. Might anybody else on these boards have any idea where to look? The bureau of labor statistics neglects to single out any one "leisure activity" in their numbers, so far as I've seen. And much as I'd love to just start a poll up on MMOC here about it, let's face it - such information would be incredibly biased (seriously, how many people post on MMOC, have a job, and DON'T play video games? I imagine not many), and wouldn't really be worth considering.

    Personally, I've met dozens, if not hundreds (like I was actually counting) of people, when I was still playing WoW, who maintained a regular job (and many even had high-paying positions!) while successfully raiding (and not just being a bench-warmer either, I mean being a core member of the raid group, if not an officer). I've seen plenty of people posting for various other games, such as SWTOR and GW2 and Rift, who claim the same thing. It's obviously even easier for more "casual" games such as LoL (and also GW2, I'll dare to say) where you can just pick up and play, with no real need for commitment.
    So I know, based on anecdotal evidence, that it's fairly common. But I'd like something more solid, and I'm wondering if it might even be out there.
    Last edited by DrakeWurrum; 2012-10-06 at 03:49 AM.
    I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies.

    If you give in to your impulses in this world, the price is that it changes your personality in the real world. The player and character are one and the same.

  2. #2
    I'm curious myself to see if there's any actual statistical evidence regarding this. It's a dumb stereotype that people who play video games regularly are unemployed, fat, etc. I'm a full time student, work a part time job, have a boyfriend/friends, and attend to other hobbies. And it's still possible to fit in a lot of time for gaming as well. (I probably don't sleep as much as I should, but it doesn't bother me too much!) Hell, back when I played WoW all the time I was in a hardcore raiding guild and still maintained a life. It's just foolish to think otherwise.

  3. #3
    I am 23, work a full time job that calls for 50+ hrs a week, i use to raid on 2 raid teams, AM and PM, AM raided Fri, Sat, Monday(9AM-12PM), PM raided Tues, Sat, Sun(7PM-11PM), i did this for pretty much the full length of my current employement, im going on 2 years now.

    I've had constant arguments with family members(uncles and aunts and cousins) because they think i am a gamer and i dont do anything with me life...but yet i can hold down a good job, live in my own appartment, raid 2 teams, and i have a "healthy" sex life(atleast in for me it is, may be sparse for others, idk) anyway im happy with my life currently and I tend to get offended when people stereotype me as o your a gamer? you must live with your parents and not do anything with your life...
    01000001 01101110 01110100 01100101 00100000 01001101 01100101 01110010 01101001 01100100 01101001 01100101 01101101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100011 01110010 01110101 01101001 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100001 00100000 01100001 01101101 01110111 01101111 01110111 00101110 01101110 01100101 01110100

  4. #4
    Deleted
    I read the whole post but I don't know exactly what to say or where to start, so I'll just start saying something.

    I completely agree with you on the part that games also take as much time as cleaning the house, watching tv or playing "normal" games. I don't understand where people got the whole "playing games is bad for you, go watch tv instead"(something like this), because it also makes no sense.

    If you have a job and still want to play games, it's not impossible, the only problem is that you need to know how to spend your time really well, and let's just say that some people don't have the patience to make a schedule and see how much time they have to play games/watch tv/etc, meaning that a lot of people, that do this will simply stop playing games, and think, that then, it's a bad thing to play games, and they totally forget that playing games is like doing any kind of leisure, whether it is sleeping or anything else that a person considers leisure time.

    About a statistic board for what you want, I have no idea where you can find one, but you could always look around some Universities and ask there if there's some kind of work that people did in the past about this and see if it's legit.

  5. #5
    May I ask what you need these statistics for? Are you writing a research paper or something, or are you just curious?

    You know the best thing for you to do is make a poll yourself. (Not on MMO-Champ, that's really biased lol. Post it on like Twitter or Facebook or one of those social things.)

  6. #6
    Well not in wow vanilla where successfully raiding was a 40 hour week job by itself including farming to support raiding.
    In normal games i really don't see why not or even why that would be a stereotype.

  7. #7
    The Insane DrakeWurrum's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blueobelisk View Post
    May I ask what you need these statistics for? Are you writing a research paper or something, or are you just curious?
    Well, as I said in the post, when trying to argue against idiots with preconceived notions about what it means to be a gamer, rather than base my opinion on purely anecdotal evidence, I'd like to provide real numbers.

    ---------- Post added 2012-10-06 at 12:22 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Majad View Post
    If you have a job and still want to play games, it's not impossible, the only problem is that you need to know how to spend your time really well, and let's just say that some people don't have the patience to make a schedule and see how much time they have to play games/watch tv/etc, meaning that a lot of people, that do this will simply stop playing games, and think, that then, it's a bad thing to play games, and they totally forget that playing games is like doing any kind of leisure, whether it is sleeping or anything else that a person considers leisure time.
    That's probably, generally, what happens to people who come up with such an opinion. My dad is one of the people I tend to argue with over this, and I know he once got really into Diablo 2 back in the day (way more than I ever did even), and even played WoW for a while, but now the only "gaming" he does is the random Facebook crap. Instead, his major obsession is running marathons and staying ridiculously fit by running literally dozens of miles daily.

    In the end, it's all about time management skills, and mastery of self-control.

    About a statistic board for what you want, I have no idea where you can find one, but you could always look around some Universities and ask there if there's some kind of work that people did in the past about this and see if it's legit.
    Hrm. That would be a start, but I get the feeling it's unlikely. This might be the kind of thing that nobody has ever bothered to think about, and just stuck with their preconceived notions as the truth.

    ---------- Post added 2012-10-06 at 02:47 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Deafknight View Post
    Well not in wow vanilla where successfully raiding was a 40 hour week job by itself including farming to support raiding.
    In normal games i really don't see why not or even why that would be a stereotype.
    Well, yeah, but who really plays games like that anymore? Some people do, but it's much more common to do the "pick-up-and-play" gaming these days, such as LoL, HoN, GW2, the kind of WoW player that only raids 10 hours a week, etc etc.
    Last edited by DrakeWurrum; 2012-10-06 at 05:25 PM.
    I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies.

    If you give in to your impulses in this world, the price is that it changes your personality in the real world. The player and character are one and the same.

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