Whoah, plenty of crazy assumptions in the article... (Gaming)

by EffortlessFury , Wednesday, March 15, 2017, 23:51 (2819 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Thanks for yours, Korny. Hoping for more thoughtful responses.

Sammy and I both attended college, and both lived with our parents until I was almost in my mid-20s. Neither could afford to finish a higher education, and now we both hold full-time jobs, with Sammy occasionally selling arts and crafts as extra income. It feels like the article is written to pander to the folks who would still look down on us because we don't own a house and have the audacity to spend our leisure time playing video games.

Those dang millenials like us, huh?

I didn't perceive the same judgmental tone that it seems you did. I thought the writer was going there, but I never perceived that they did. And I did see a lot of myself in the testimonials, and I've had my own difficulties finding balance. I'm very happy for you and Sammy if you don't find that to be a struggle.

Actually, interestingly enough I felt like the author directly acknowledged the impact the economy has on this type of issue. They mentioned that wages have stagnated or dropped for "younger positions" and even in the summary paragraph at the end notes that the world may seem more rigged to those of us who play games than the games themselves.

So then start your own business and pay yourself what you want if your wages aren't to your liking. There are a serious lack of entrepreneurs coming from millenials, which is ironic because it's so cheap to borrow money these days. Blaming the economy won't help. You have to forge a path and change your own environment.

My best friend had a shitty job in data analysis, so he quit and started a cider company. Never looked back.

...You talking to me? lol I personally have no issues what soever. Great job and all that. I do acknowledge that the economy hasn't been kind to many. And yes, I'd agree with you that there are plenty of pathways for people to consider that are advantageous, like the one you mentioned.

Aside: Though I could counter-point that while the risk of being an entrepreneur might be lower now than it was then, the risk is still higher than many types of work that could be seen as fall-back work in case of failure. The point the article makes in these cases is that lower paying positions have been pushing out lower skilled workers due to trickle down and lowest skill workers (usually the youngest, newest hires) face less options for stable entry-level work.

That aside, as it's a whole separate issue: like Kermit said, the article talks about many different angles on the gamer lifestyle and how one would arrive there. One of them was that the idea of spending time gaming might be more alluring than spending time procuring a job that would provide more money and luxury when the gaming lifestyle wouldn't require much money or effort and has greater psychological returns on investment.

Which begs the question, does it really matter if the person isn't doing something "grand" that society deems acceptable if the person is taking care of themselves and is happy? Which the article discusses a few points and counter points.