My advice for getting a gamer to like you

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My advice for getting a gamer to like you

When I tell people I am a gamer the initial response is always bad or skeptical. The majority of the people I encounter have a very skewed image of what "gamer" actually means, so I will do you the favor of telling you here: a gamer is someone who enjoys playing video games. That's it. Unfortunately there is a bad stigma around being a gamer, and people will assume the worst about you a lot of times just because you tell them you play games. I can confidently say however that people that don't make those assumptions and are considerate towards the fact that I am a gamer get bonus points in my book. Here are my tips on how to not make a gamer dislike you (and possibly like you):

1. Don't fetishize gaming. One of the biggest red flags for me is when somebody who isn't invested in gaming culture somehow thinks its hit to use my career as a selling point for their dating profiles. It doesn't make me attracted to you or make me think you're cool because you take pictures of yourself wrapped in cords or have Fortnite in the background while you're showing your ass. Obviously its fine to play if you dont consider yourself a gamer, but dont try to win someone over like that. It's not impressive to us.

2. Avoid overstatements and generalization. I think the most frustrating thing about gaming while non-gamers are around is when they say "this is all you do." Realistically I play 1-2 hours per day on average aside from tournament days. Of course I log more hours during holidays or breaks, but I am a normal person with a job and school. I dont play Call of Duty for 12 hours per day and live off energy drinks and snacks. I have to thank Pepsi and their advertisements for this one.

3. Don't prioritize your time over mine. I think this is a big one because many gamers grew up with parents that did this. It is easier to explain by example: I am playing League of Legends, and I'm 30 minutes into a ranked game. Somebody comes in, clearly wanting me to do something. S/he can either

1. Say I need to do it now and make a big deal about me playing at that very instance instead of being readily available at their command

Or

2. Treat my hobby/time like anyone else's and say "when you finish that game can you..."

It really isn't that hard to respect a gamer's time, and when you blow up because a gamer has you wait for 5 minutes while they finish a game it makes you seem toxic and honestly kind of abusive. I know I dont want to be around people that yell and complain over a couple minutes wait when if it were the other way around they would get offended if I did the same.

Support your gamer. This one is selective because it really only applies to competitive/professional players. For me, personally, the best way to get me to like you is to learn about what I do and the ways to support it. Of course I dont expect a donation or any kind of financial support. Simply cheering or going to tournaments is more than enough. Players in my circumstance already face enough criticism from people so giving them encouragement goes a long way.

For the most part, gamers are just like everyone else, so its not particularly hard to get acquainted with us or even date us. Even though these steps are more or less common sense in other cases, people forget them when dealing with gamers for some reason, but as long as you follow them you'll get along fine with us.

My advice for getting a gamer to like you
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