Vex Member Oct 25, 2017 25,591 Were you ever bullied or made fun of for liking video games growing up (by Relatives/Friends/Enemies)? It was kind of in the same category as liking paper back comic books back in the day (i.e. "nerd culture"). Just curious. I know things are kind of different now (mostly), but I am wondering if you were made fun of by the "uninitiated" as they say. Back during a time where video games were kind of "niche" to enjoy in the capacity we do now on a much broader scale. Personally my parents thought it was odd that I enjoyed video games and would often ridicule me for enjoying a quiet game during the summer months. They'd say "why don't you go outside" and take my console away sometimes. They'd also say very hurtful things but I won't get into that. I figured as long as I wasn't doped up and doing drugs like all the other "cool kids", or getting an early pregnancy, I was good wtf MOM 🤣  Last edited: 48 minutes ago Baphomet Member Dec 8, 2018 21,845 Nope.   Mephissto Member Mar 8, 2024 1,145 No, video games were always hot shit in my school etc. I remember in elementary school almost everyone was playing Pokemon during breaks.  Dan Thunder Member Nov 2, 2017 16,965 Occasionally made fun of but I grew up in the 80's and there was a much bigger stigma in the 80's and early 90's around playing computer/videogames.   Jus Do It ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 25, 2017 43,755 South Central I'm a millennial, so I act like I was an outsider because of video games even though everybody else my age was also into video games. Gen Xers were the last true nerds.  Jubilant Duck Member Oct 21, 2022 9,214 The only people who made negative comments about how many videogames I played were my parents.   Dal Uncle Works at Nintendo Member Aug 18, 2024 2,197 No, video games were huge in my school (and bullying was uncommon fortunately since everyone knew everyone and hitting another kid or making fun of them was a good enough way to get you in trouble with the rest of the school)   Okada Member Nov 8, 2017 749 I'm a millennial and everyone around me was playing video games. It wasn't weird even then. Not liking football would have been seen as much weirder and more likely to lead to bullying.  THANKS Prophet of Regret Member Oct 22, 2018 1,587 Yes because I played JRPGs.   ConflictResolver Member Jan 1, 2024 4,856 Midgar I don't think this was ever a thing in the UK. But American pop culture made it look like a thing there (nerds vs jocks) but maybe that's just a made up thing from TV and movies and was never true? Vex said: Personally my parents thought it was odd that I enjoyed video games and would often ridicule me for enjoying a quiet game during the summer months. They'd say "why don't you go outside" and take my console away sometimes. They'd also say very hurtful things but I won't get into that. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Ah yes I can relate. I'm married in my 30s, have my own house, my own kid and my parents still sometimes scrutinise my lifelong videogame hobby. It's weird. My Dad is more about scrutinising the finances of it, but my Mum sometimes says throwaway comments like "wow you are a big man now and still play game?". It's actually really hurtful considering how big a part of my identity videogames and videogame culture is (and she knows it too). As if I am going to give up the thing you have seen me passionately into since I was a toddler lol.  Last edited: 37 minutes ago Ravelle Member Oct 31, 2017 20,328 No, never. Everyone played video games, that's the thing you spent your lunch break talking about with classmates.   Dead Man Typing Member Oct 27, 2017 7,601 Kinda but not really. I was definitely known as the video game guy all through school. Most people played games so it wasn't like they bullied me for it. There were definitely jokes about how much I loved my Dreamcast.  Lamptramp Member Oct 27, 2017 2,871 Germany I grew up in the UK in the late 80s early 90's Games weren't really a thing that got you marked for bullying that I recall. That's not why I was bullied all the time I was at school.  Greywaren Member Jul 16, 2019 13,079 Spain Oh yes. Quite often, actually. It stopped when video games became more mainstream, though.   onibirdo Member Dec 9, 2020 3,566 No, if anything it was a lot easier to out yourself as a gamer as a kid than it is as an adult.   julia crawford Took the red AND the blue pills Member Oct 27, 2017 40,539 No memory of it, but it might have happened. I really don't discuss games with pretty much anyone IRL. I have however used the words "magic circle" at one point.   ConflictResolver Member Jan 1, 2024 4,856 Midgar Lamptramp said: I grew up in the UK in the late 80s early 90's Games weren't really a thing that got you marked for bullying that I recall. That's not why I was bullied all the time I was at school. Click to expand... Click to shrink... UK bullying from my recollection was mainly mainly about outward appearance. If you looked the part you can be into whatever you want.   AerialAir Member Oct 25, 2017 2,326 Portugal Nah, but I was born in the 90s. By the 2000s, gaming was already a dominant form of mainstream media.   Dunfish Member Oct 29, 2017 1,577 Was it ever actually a thing? I know it was portrayed in every teen movie in the 80s and 90s but never experienced it or saw it growing up. There was a lot of tribalism around brands though, so weird how people carried that into adulthood.   Fudgepuppy Member Oct 27, 2017 5,841 Yes, specifically because I had a Gamecube.   DaveB Member Oct 25, 2017 5,134 New Hampshire, USA Oh god, yeah. Me and my friends at the time were called nerds and bullied incessantly over it. Kids around school called it "No-friendo". It wasn't until we were in high school - around the first PlayStation - that they started to become mainstream.   Derbel McDillet ▲ Legend ▲ Member Nov 23, 2022 24,298 I can't really relate to the whole "they made fun of us for playing video game or watching anime" thing. I can think of single instance where I was made fun of for playing Pokémon in elementary school, but just about everyone else was playing Pokémon. But outside of that, to my knowledge, no one cared. Elementary school everyone had Gameboys. Middle school everyone had GBAs and then DSs. High school, we'd play our DSs together for lunch and a lot of kids had 360s at home. There was also video games club where we played PC games during lunch or after school. In college, only a handful of people I knew played games, but people were up for any game nights I hosted. I just wish I had a bigger TV. At least one of my friends today has this weirdly negative perception of video games to the point where she was weirdly stubborn about not watching a trailer I wanted to show her that literally two minutes. It was like giving a 6 year old broccoli. Dunfish said: Was it ever actually a thing? I know it was portrayed in every teen movie in the 80s and 90s but never experienced it or saw it growing up. There was a lot of tribalism around brands though, so weird how people carried that into adulthood. Click to expand... Click to shrink... School felt like it was a melting pot of all types. Some of the band kids were jocks. People were getting into Naruto. 90% of the manga readers I knew were girls. Like no one really gave a shit what other people liked, and if they did, that was a bonding experience. We had the Halo PC demo on some of the better computers and played at every opportunity, sometimes during computer lab. I remember in chemistry if the teacher finished the lesson early he'd just give us the last 20 minutes to do whatever and like 8 of us would just play Mario Kart via DS download. That's not to say I never had a rough time in school, it just had nothing to do with my hobbies. Or maybe I was just super oblivious.  Mass Effect One Winged Slayer Member Oct 31, 2017 19,186 No. Video games were widely played when I was in school.   Shopolic Avenger Oct 27, 2017 8,089 Bullied? No. Made fun of? Yes. Not a serious thing though and it was mostly friendly.  Hrodulf Member Oct 25, 2017 5,761 Might be one of the few things people didn't try to bully me about in school, honestly.   Nameless Member Oct 25, 2017 17,247 Nope. It wasn't a secret I loved games, but I also had enough social awareness not to pull an EGM out of my bag or start extolling the virtues of Chrono Cross while sitting at the "cool kids" table.   Giga Man One Winged Slayer Member Oct 27, 2017 23,162 No. Everyone was into some form of video game adjacent pop culture, whether was Pokemon/Pokemon cards in elementary school or sports games in middle/high school. I was bullied for other reasons. If we're talking parents, I was blessed with a loving, albeit passive, pair who, while not into games themselves, would play with me if I asked. They let me keep to myself more often than not, which was too my detriment in development if I'm being honest. They didn't really challenge me, and if they tried, I'd reject it and go to my room where it was safe.  Eidan AVALANCHE Avenger Oct 30, 2017 9,840 No.   Kemono ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 27, 2017 8,621 No. Most kids around me played or liked games in some kind of way.  Derbel McDillet ▲ Legend ▲ Member Nov 23, 2022 24,298 I guess there's also the factor of what you put out there. Like, I openly carried my DS with me and could be seen playing in the library and some classes, but the average person wouldn't know or care what systems I had at home. Nor would they know or care what I watched at home unless we specifically talked about it at school. I wasn't hiding it, it just had no reason to come up. You had your cliques, but everyone knew each other from like middle school, so it was easy to just group hop. My friends got super into Magic the Gathering, I didn't care for it as much, I bought a $10 starter deck and borrowed a few cards to give it a try a few times and then I just pulled back from that group just bit (because I wanted to do things I found fun for lunch) to chill with another (theater kids, burnouts, student government, national honor society), they didn't play video games at all, so it was mostly something I just did at home or at the end of Chemistry. Like, no one was made fun of for liking Naruto, but there was the kid that could be seen doing the Naruto run to lunch everyday. And it was more laughing from a distance (the fact that they got the reference was telling).  Lamptramp Member Oct 27, 2017 2,871 Germany ConflictResolver said: UK bullying from my recollection was mainly mainly about outward appearance. If you looked the part you can be into whatever you want. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah, pretty much or if you were LGTBQIA+ not that we knew what that was or would dare to say so. Hell even if someone just said you were "gay" on a whim. Everyone else had school had a c64 or spectrum when I grew up and aside from "warring" over which was better there wasn't any bullying.  Chainshada Member Oct 25, 2017 3,010 My parents were fine with it, after like 8-10 years old my brother and I were pretty much left to play on our own, I have a few memories of them playing games with us when we were little. I don't want to say there was no bullying in school, as I have no clue what other kids went through around me as a straight white kid, but I always bounced between 2 friend groups, 1 more for nerdy stuff (D&D, Warhammer, etc) and the other for sports..but both groups played games, both watched anime, occasionally the groups merged without issue, never heard either side shit talk the other behind their backs.  TheEchosOfTheCyborg Member Feb 24, 2018 7,684 Not bullied for playing games but playing the "wrong" and "kiddie" games like loving Pokémon, Halo, Minecraft and Tekken rather than "mature" stuff like COD, FIFA, the Saw franchise, Max and Paddy, Little Britain etc