Are video games a “problem” of today’s modern society? The debate seems to never reach a conclusion.
A modern problem?
During a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan became a hot topic across online communities for calling video games a problem. He argues while they are fun, they are still a waste of time.
“Video games a real problem. You know why? Because they’re f**king fun. You do them, and they’re real exciting, but you don’t get anywhere.”
Rogan further suggested that the time spent over playing games could be spent on activities that have “more potential to be a profitable career.”
“You [could be] doing something exciting and fun, or you could just be playing fucking video games. Three years later you could just be that same kid, just playing video games… waiting for the next whatever the fuck game is… and you’re gonna waste your time.”
He held back from saying success in gaming is close to impossible, though. Instead, he claims:
“There are kids that make a lot of fucking money playing video games, but you have to be adaptable, you have to able to play multiple video games because the one game you get really good at, what are the odds it’ll be around in five years time?”
His last comments weren’t included in the clips of his take that went viral on the internet. As a result, most people only caught wind of his message about gaming being a waste of time.
Gamers answer back
High-profile gamers such as Ninja and Dr. Lupo shared their thoughts on Rogan’s statements.
Dr. Lupo, in particular, dubbed it as a bad take. To him, anything can be harmful when done in excess but video games have brought many players success, new friendships, among others.
“Listening to this podcast is a waste of time if it’s all you do all day and wait for the next episode.
Generalized bad take is bad. Anything can be harmful in excess. Video games have made many people successful, they’re the cause for a majority of my friendships, etc.”
Meanwhile, Fortnite star Ninja explained there are plenty of ways to make a living off gaming. He even offered to go on Rogan’s podcast to be able to discuss it further.
“I mean there’s streaming, content creation, YouTube, being a professional player, being a fricking coach. You can be incredibly understanding of the game and not have the physical capacity to be able to get pentakills every single game.”
“That doesn’t mean there’s not a job for you, right? That doesn’t mean there’s not a place for you in the gaming community where you can be successful, especially when coaches are being valued more and more which is a beautiful thing to see because coaches have been in sports forever.”
However, others noted how Rogan may have been speaking from personal experience— as he’s admitted to have been excessively consumed by video games in the past.
What do you think of Joe Rogan’s take on gaming?
