To me, it doesn't. I'm naturally the anti-social butterfly, so there's little for games to make worse.
Question of the Day, July 2, 2010
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
Its certainly changed my social skills in terms of my friends becoming bits of text and random raging voices through a headset, so I think its had a negative effect. Cant remember the last time we had a full proper in-person get together outside of bragging over k/d rates.
I don't have very good social skills, but I wouldn't have gotten that from playing games. Mostly it was a combination of genetics, bullying and other such factors. I don't even really enjoy gaming, I do it for different reasons.
I doubt the act of playing games has any noticable effect on one's social prowess.
Of course, if you play them too much that will probably lead to some degree of social degradation. But I guess that goes for any solo non-social activity.
Also...
Of course, if you play them too much that will probably lead to some degree of social degradation. But I guess that goes for any solo non-social activity.
Also...
Why play them if you don't enjoy them? Care to elaborate?A_Parked_Car said:
I would say they changed them a little some good some bad. . . I catch gaming jokes inadvertently said in conversations with my friends but can't explain because none of them are gamers 
but I think it has given me some boldness and I need all I can get. . . I suck at socializing because I don't like people to know things about me. . .
apparently not an issue online
but I think it has given me some boldness and I need all I can get. . . I suck at socializing because I don't like people to know things about me. . .
apparently not an issue online
I learned how to talk to people from Commander Shepard.
More seriously now, I sometimes allude to games in a manner that goes way over peoples heads (I'm the only really serious gamer among my friends, the rest just play Call of Duty on the weekends or don't pick up controllers at all), so I suppose that that counts as gaming's impact on my social interaction. It's still really fun, however, to find the parallels between my life and the the events of BioShock--it happens more often than you might think.
More seriously now, I sometimes allude to games in a manner that goes way over peoples heads (I'm the only really serious gamer among my friends, the rest just play Call of Duty on the weekends or don't pick up controllers at all), so I suppose that that counts as gaming's impact on my social interaction. It's still really fun, however, to find the parallels between my life and the the events of BioShock--it happens more often than you might think.
I'm perfectly comfortable socialising, and I do think that is down to (partially) Gaming.
Don't try and talk to me while I'm gaming though, especially online. I've lost count of the times I've felt like a twat snapping at my parents in the dying seconds of a L4D match.
Don't try and talk to me while I'm gaming though, especially online. I've lost count of the times I've felt like a twat snapping at my parents in the dying seconds of a L4D match.
i'm not sure if they affect my social skills per sey, but they certainly take up time i should proabbly spend socalising...
I made half my friends at my college's gaming club, so definitely for the better. And we get more every year
Video games gave me a common ground upon which to approach and communicate with people who I may never have otherwise. So yes, they have had a positive effect on my social skills overall.
Nowadays specifically, though, it doesn't play too big a role as the industry has gone one direction while I've gone another. For example when speaking with my college adviser, she mentioned the campus has a gaming club which gathers weekly and that it may help me to ease into things. My initial reaction 15 years ago would have been "Awesome!" However on that day, I thought to myself "No thanks. I'm not big on shooters, sports, and racing."
Nowadays specifically, though, it doesn't play too big a role as the industry has gone one direction while I've gone another. For example when speaking with my college adviser, she mentioned the campus has a gaming club which gathers weekly and that it may help me to ease into things. My initial reaction 15 years ago would have been "Awesome!" However on that day, I thought to myself "No thanks. I'm not big on shooters, sports, and racing."
It varies. Depending on the content of the video game and how the player interacts with it, you can have numerous results. I know people who became much more social when they started playing online games. I became somewhat less social. So really, none of your answers for the poll are satisfactory.
IMO, a lot of gamers are already socially inept. Games can, however, cause socially inept people to continue staying the same. This is assuming they don't play with friends a lot.