I hear people say, from time to time, that people who still play video games as an adults are acting in a childish manner. I’m going to attack this misconception, and shed some light on the situation.
I find it humorous that the same people who make these claims are the same ones who spend an even greater amount of time vegetating in front of a television. Video games promote hand-eye coordination, logical thinking, problem solving, and human interaction on online services; all which actively involve the end user. TV, on the other hand, assumes you are an unintelligent blob and constantly spits out brain-numbing commercials, infomercials filled with insulting sales tactics, and television shows which are produced for the LCD of viewers. This dumbs-down the experience for you, the viewer, and encourages you to zone out while watching. This is not good.
Let’s dig a bit deeper. Basically, people play video games as a form of “escape”. Escapism, in my opinion, is thought of as “play” or “fun”. There are many different forms of escapism, including TV watching, video games, daydreaming, listening to music, drug/alcohol abuse, mindless web surfing, reading, etc. When a human seeks an escape from their day-to-day, it shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing. I mean, “All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy”. As humans, we need a way to release, relax, and do something that makes us feel good after a long day of doing things we wouldn’t prefer to be doing.
Here’s when video games (or any other form of escapism) becomes a problem. If an adult gamer decides to level his player to 45 in World of Warcraft instead of making sure the rent/mortgage is paid, then that is a problem. In my mind, it’s the same as the person who would rather read the last chapter of a Grisham novel before bed, procrastinating on finishing the load of clothes which will now need to be done the following morning, resulting in them being late for work the next day without a valid excuse. What it boils down to is simple time management. Being an adult comes with a fair amount of responsibility, and those responsibilities need to be taken care of before you should engage in an act of escapism.
I think that video games get a bad rap with the older generations of American society. They think that video games are for children, probably because that’s what their children asked for when the Holiday season came around. What they don’t know is that there are many games coming out with an “M for Mature” rating. Would this be the case if there was not a huge market for mature gamers? I doubt it. There are also online communities for older gamers like 2old2play with over 15k community members, and The Older Gamers with over 34k community members. The gaming age survey found here states that the average US gamer age is 35 years old.
Let’s end this misconception. Escapism is escapism, so don’t let your grandmother tell you that video games are a waste of time while she spends an hour a day on the penny slots at the casino. She’s just jealous 
