Self conscious gaming and the double standard

Incendiary said:
Yeah, considering people mess around on their iPhones/iPads/Androids/etc. all the time in public now, I don't see why a Vita or a 3DS or whatever should be different.

That being said, often times I treat my handheld like a regular console and just play it at home. Not out of embarrassment or anything, but it's just what I do. If I'm going somewhere and may have to wait for a while (doctor's office, etc.) my reflex is to grab a book instead of a game system.
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Yup, this. I feel exactly the same way.

Hell, I work at a refinery and when there's nothing to do, my colleagues do nothing but play games on their phones and I'm actually ridiculed for reading a book instead.
 
No. I've never felt 'embarrassed' to play my games outside.

I used to play Animal Crossing on my old DS phat in middle school and I never felt any embarrassment. Neither in high school, heck everyone had a DS with Pokemon and I'd Streetpass people every day.

I take my 3DS everywhere and play it whenever I have nothing to do.
 
Nope, when I'm bored I whip out the 3DS and start playing. Don't care what people think or say, it's about my happiness.
 
The only thing that bothers me is when some kid finds it fascinating and they... don't respect personal space. My GF is mortified by that as well, as she likes kids even less than I do. :D

But yeah, feeling self-conscious is something that goes away with age, I guess. Although I don't really remember ever minding bringing out a GB or whatever.
 
You'd be surprised what people are actually thinking. From my experience the people who are "supposed" to be the most mature and self respected are those who could really care less. I married a doctor and while she was doing her residency all her friends wanted to do on the weekends was play rockband and get wasted. They were like 25-32 year old college kids. People who like to judge others base their opinions on what they think is important... themselves.
 
I've never cared. Ive been at work playing my DS while fixing someone's computer before. Why the fuck should I care what someone thinks about what I do with my free time?
 
Im conscious, but in a different way. While I bring my 3DS most of the time when I go out, no way Im playing it in public especially on trains and PUVs because that will attract attention of pickpockets which is very rampant in my country.
 
I really don't give a damn about what people think when I'm gaming while riding the subway, or anything else really. But eh, maybe I'm just another 30 years old hipster like the OP's.

vall03 said:
Im conscious, but in a different way. While I bring my 3DS most of the time when I go out, no way Im playing it in public especially on trains and PUVs because that will attract attention of pickpockets which is very rampant in my country.
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This, too. I feel more nervous about getting my stuff stolen than anything else, to be honest.
 
People are always giving me dodgy looks when I'm on the bus, but I don't care. Of course I haven't worked out if it's because I'm playing my 3DS or because I'm in the nude.
 
Hell no. I whip out my Vita on the bus every day I ride it.

I'm too old to be ashamed of shit like that.

Sometimes, I'll catch people looking over my shoulder at what I'm playing. Other times people will ask me what it is. Considering how many people are nose deep in their smart phones on the bus, most of the time, they just assume you have some gadget or another.
 
Yes, I care what other people think about me, because humans are social animals and we live in a society, and what other people think about you can affect the quality of your life.
 
Electivirus said:
Nope. Life's too short to be embarrassed about playing video games in public. I can understand the embarrassment, though.
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This and I too can see why some would be embarrassed. That said people like to look at me funny for playing games at all let alone something like trading pokemon on a bus at my age, fuck them! They ain't gonna cut into my enjoyment on what I like in life.

Trent Strong said:
Yes, I care what other people think about me, because humans are social animals and we live in a society, and what other people think about you can affect the quality of your life.
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This is true but how much of your life do you have to let it affect? Does it have to bother you so much that you hide things are go into depression over it?
 
Trent Strong said:
Yes, I care what other people think about me, because humans are social animals and we live in a society, and what other people think about you can affect the quality of your life.
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I'm positive some random stranger thinking "man, ewwwww, he's playing games!" about you won't change the quality of your life at all. You avoiding something you enjoy in fear of what random people might or might not -think- about you on the other hand...
 
Trent Strong said:
Yes, I care what other people think about me, because humans are social animals and we live in a society, and what other people think about you can affect the quality of your life.
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You wouldn't be able to develop if you let how others perceive judge the way you live your life.

Or is this post meant to be sarcastic? :P
 
Folstern said:
I whip out my portable gaming systems wherever I go. I'll probably still be doing it when I'm 40 and bald. Chances are if someone's judging you because you're playing a video game, they'd be judging you without it, so who cares?
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I'm 35 and bald. If I didn't play my handhelds on the bus during my commute, I would lose more than 50% of my weekly gaming time.

That said, I think busting out a 3DS to pass the 60 seconds while waiting in line for a fast food restaurant, like the example in the OP, just looks impatient and, as a result, childish. Nothing to do with the medium of portable gaming.
 
I would bust out my DSi on my 45 minute transit ride to school and play some Dragon Quest IX. Shit was amazing. Not many people gave me weird looks. Not that it matters. Like I gave a fuck.

Although I was pretty stoned during those bus rides.
 
Not an issue for me. I can't live my life worried about what random people that aren't a part of my life think.

I see people on the train watching movies on their portable dvd players. I see people browsing porn on the train. I see guys in business suits playing ipad/iphone games.

So I'm gonna play my vita proudly on the train. If someone thinks I'm a man-child because of it then so be it. Sometimes I browse on my phone instead but it can make my commute very short to relax and enjoy some gaming during my commute. Which is two hours each way.
 
Caring about what your employer or significant other thinks of you = watching out for your quality of life.

Caring about what strangers on the bus or in an airport think of you for holding a handheld electronic device = pure silliness, though at the same time an understandable reaction depending on one's individual personality and history of social conditioning.

There are however quite a lot of people who really do think that it's all about image and what everyone else thinks of you basically all the time. While it may grant one the feeling or perception of more "success" or depending on your culture "adulthood", in the end it's mostly a giant waste of time. You're all going in the same crematorium and coming out the same carbon.

So I really wouldn't worry about letting people see your gameboy in the meantime.
 
What if the future love of my life (actress/supermodel) sees me playing with the 3DS while at the grocery store? She will think I am a nerd and not want to ask me out. I can't take that risk.
 
vall03 said:
Im conscious, but in a different way. While I bring my 3DS most of the time when I go out, no way Im playing it in public especially on trains and PUVs because that will attract attention of pickpockets which is very rampant in my country.
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Yeahh... I'm the same way. I don't feel comfortable bringing out my expensive devices into the open when I'm on the train.

Which makes for a great excuse to get some reading time in. No one's going to want to steal a book.
 
I think people stop being afraid to be seen playing video games on the same day they stop being afraid to be seen out in public with their mothers.

I'm a grown-ass man, I do what I want.
 
I haven't really had much of an opportunity but I doubt I'd be embarrassed. Maybe some of the ridiculous minigames in Vita titles that require the rear camera be held in front of a light bulb would make me feel like a jackass but they already make me feel like a jackass when I'm the only one in the room.
 
If I could use my Vita on my 1 hour conmute I'd probably do it. But someone would probably steal it, so I don't.
 
Nope, when I could be bothered I'd play my 3DS everywhere.

People would be looking at it with pressed looks on their faces on the train as they fingered the latest 99c piece of shit on their phone.

I don't look like a stereotypical "gamer", but I wouldn't care even if I did.
 
Who is there to be embarrassed around? If you are with people who's opinions you value you should't be playing a game anyway, but being concerned with what the average person thinks about you to the degree it affects your actions is unhealthy.
 
I don't play my portables in a portable fashion because I don't want to risk them being damaged or dropped or smudged, not because I'm embarrassed.

Screw portability, they're consoles with a massive pile of great exclusive games.
 
Here's the secret: No one really cares if you're playing a handheld. Most people couldn't care less about you short of you taking a shit on the floor.
 
WTF, I used to play DS on the bus to uni every day. People used to ask me what I was playing all the time or look over my shoulder at the game I was playing.

I don't play handhelds anymore but I'd definitely get back into it if I had a job where I had to take a train to work or something. (can't stand phone games)

The thing is, who really gives a shit what random people think of you?
 
I'm not embarrassed playing video games on public transportation. It's just that I get motion sickness if I play handhelds on the train even though I love my Vita and 3DS XL. I can't read either. So I just listen to music or talk radio.
 
I have a 2x1 hour commute. If I'm playing a game that can be played in short burst then yeah I'll whip out that handheld. I dislike playing RPG's on the go, can't properly experience the music and take my time to enjoy it(transit, people being loud) .
 
Yeah, I don't let my friends, who aren't gamers, know I have handhelds.

This last break I was in a different city for an internship. For some reason, I could play my vita in public no problem but was embarrassed to whip out my 3DS. :s
 
When my 3DS ran out of battery: time to bust out my Vita.

When it too ran out of battery, time to bust out my DS. DS ran out of battery? PSP time!

I always carry those four, and I don't give a damn about what people thought of me when I play them in public, hahaha.
 
Laughing Banana said:
When my 3DS ran out of battery: time to bust out my Vita.

When it too ran out of battery, time to bust out my DS. DS ran out of battery? PSP time!

I always carry those four, and I don't give a damn about what people thought of me when I play them in public, hahaha.
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Haha, wow! I have a tough time fitting more than two systems into my purse unless I take all my other diversions (sketchbook, novel) out. Where do you put them all? Backpack? Purse? Briefcase?

...Or do you just have ENORMOUS pockets?
 
Trent Strong said:
Yes, I care what other people think about me, because humans are social animals and we live in a society, and what other people think about you can affect the quality of your life.
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That only goes for your potential employer. Everyone else means fuck all to your quality of life, which is supposed to be what you make of it if you have the money (which leads back to don't piss your employer off!).
 
I don't do it because I'm afraid someone would punch me in the face and steal my 3DS

I live in Newham, you know
 
Laughing Banana said:
When my 3DS ran out of battery: time to bust out my Vita.

When it too ran out of battery, time to bust out my DS. DS ran out of battery? PSP time!

I always carry those four, and I don't give a damn about what people thought of me when I play them in public, hahaha.
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Dude, I envy you your dedication. Considering the battery life on those handhelds, if you're regularly running out the batteries on two or more of them when you're out, well, dayum.
 
I sometimes feel self-conscious about taking out a handheld, but after seeing a guy play the Mega Man X iOS remake on his iPhone on the subway, I've taken a different stance.
 
I play my handhelds (currently 3DS, before it was DS or PSP depending on the game I was playing) when riding shuttles or when waiting, but never while walking or in a very crowded station (primarily to avoid pickpockets).
 
I keep a PSPGo and 3DS XL on me during college days. Not embarrassed one bit.

Of course, when people ask me what I'm playing and I reply with a title like "Oh, it's just Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward", I tend to get weird looks. I don't care.
 
honorless said:
Haha, wow! I have a tough time fitting more than two systems into my purse unless I take all my other diversions (sketchbook, novel) out. Where do you put them all? Backpack? Purse? Briefcase?

...Or do you just have ENORMOUS pockets?
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I always carry my laptop bag with me whenever I go out. Putting them all in + my laptop is not a big deal for me, hahaha.

Tellaerin said:
Dude, I envy you your dedication. Considering the battery life on those handhelds, if you're regularly running out the batteries on two or more of them when you're out, well, dayum.
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4 handhelds + a laptop very rarely unable to satisfy my portable gaming needs whenever I am going out :) And when I get back home, when those five getting charged well it's time to play my xbox360 or Ps3! Hahaha.
 
Don't have a dedicated portable gaming device, but I always whip out my iphone and play dungeon raid and the like while in queue at the bank/doctor's/etc. It's better than standing around doing nothing.
 
There was a time in my life that I cared a lot about this sort of thing. I can say unequivocally that not caring is better.

I think it's good to do a little self reflection here and try to be less judgmental of people doing things in public that I would have disapproved of. If you're not hurting anyone else it's really none of my business how you dress, what kind of music you listen to, if you're overweight, etc.
 
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