I was six when I started playing games. Occasionally I would borrow my older brothers’ Game Boy to play Pokemon and later The Adventure of Zelda, and people didn’t seem to mind. I’m sure that at that age people were just glad they could leave me to do something on my own and they didn’t have to worry about me.

Needless to say, I’m not six anymore. As I have gotten older however, peoples’ perception of my gaming has also changed, and not for the better. It seems as though while playing video games as a child was all good, they didn’t expect me to keep playing games past getting into university. When my answer to the question “Do you still play games?” is yes, people walk away as if I just told them I’m a psychopath.

I feel like I should clarify. By people, I mean anyone in my family apart from my parents and brothers.

This is very frustrating for me, not only do I enjoy playing video games for fun, it’s so much more than that. For me it is a means of relaxation and relieving stress, a medium through which I can interact and spend time with friends, and I’m interested and passionate about it. So, the perception that perhaps I’m getting too old to play games, or that there is an age limit at all, is ludicrous to me.

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Perhaps it is just a traditional way of thinking that causes them to think that I should rethink my hobbies, and pick more adult pass-times such as reading books or watching movies. But I don’t see why I can’t enjoy those things, and still enjoy playing video games, without feeling like everyone still sees me as a child (give me a good book and I’ll happily read it over playing video games).