Is gaming your hobby? Apparently you're doomed to a lifetime of couch-slumber.

By Lo-Ping - Sat May 21, 9:52 am

By Ben C.

Gamers and sports fans beware—Canadian news site metronews.ca has recently cited an article from 2forcouples.com that claims video games and sports memorabilia are detriments to healthy relationships. Abandon all hope ye who enter here.

Furthering the outlandish claim that hobbies not involving your romantic partner mean curtains, this hilariously awful advice column shows how blatantly out of the loop some people are. Going against many psychologists’ study of human affection, the author of this column uses a classic, dastardly tactic that’s popular amongst rhetoricians.

http://www.metronews.ca/edmonton/life/article/864760–top-10-things-to-throw-out

We start with four very reasonable points. By the fourth, you’re nodding at each point they make. Unless you’re a serious gamer or a sports fanatic, chances are you’ll end up agreeing with the 5^th and 6^th points. The author then returns to this plane of existence with the final points. Let’s discuss the real problem here: Points 5 and 6. I’ll focus on 6, because we’re a gaming site, not a sports site.

The major problem here is the decade-old stereotype surrounding video games. Video games, while becoming increasingly popular, are still hardly recognized as a valid hobby. Whereas television shows like Glee and Weeds serve absolutely no purpose other than cheap entertainment, video games are considered to be childish. There is no easy way to destabilize this bizarre assumption other than fighting it on a case by case basis.

I can say, however, that from my personal experience (several relationships and psychology courses later), it’s become clear that women (at least the kind that are worth it long-term) are turned on by commitment to hobbies, and by commitment to the things they love. If you follow a sports team through thick and thin, keeping memorabilia to remember their best years, and if you’re thorough with your video games, and you’re passionate about enjoying them and completing them, your partner will see that as a plus. As dreamy as it might sound to someone with limited physical contact with members or the other sex, constant cuddle time gets boring, and is even less productive than, say, playing video games together! The fact of the matter remains that most gamers, once in a relationship, are like any other human being with a hobby. Is this advice column suggesting that men sacrifice their hobbies to make room for their woman? How on earth is that a desirable relationship? We look for people that we connect with and that we’re compatible with. Marriages don’t function unless each party can retain their personal lives, and LIVE with one another, not SMOTHER themselves with the other person (as enticing as that might sound for the first month or two of a fun fling).

I’m sure this article is written for guys who lack real hobbies, so they play video games casually, ignoring their partner, or they get furious when the wife washes a sports jersey in warm water rather than cool rinse and hang-dry, but publishing articles like this on reputable news sites does absolutely nothing more than continue spreading stereotypes and misconceptions. I know not everyone has a decent understanding of relationship psychology, but this stands as a violation of a very simple concept. I can’t picture anyone writing this other than a sour individual with a personal history in this matter.