On a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan made some interesting statements about gaming, earning the ire of players across social media.
Discussing kids and their life choices and their role models with Joe De Sena, Rogan stated, “They’re not modeling their life after someone that they see that they admire; someone that’s successful, someone that is doing something they enjoy and love. Sometimes kids have to see that.”
He continued, “And if their parents are living a bullshit and their neighbors are living a bullshit life and most of their family lives a bullshit life; they just f***ing lay around. And then they seek refuge in drugs or video games or something that stimulates them.”
Rogan then dove into video games. He stated, “And video games are a real problem. They’re a real problem. You know why? Because they’re f***ing fun. I have a real problem with them.”
He continued, “You do them, and they’re real exciting, but you don’t get anywhere.”
Rogan went on to compare both video games and martial arts, suggesting that one had a viable path in life, while the other one did not.
He stated, “Like martial arts. You could learn jiu jitsu, you could get obsessed by jiu jitsu. And then three years later you are like an elite jiu jitsu athlete. You are entering competitions, you a purple belt, you are doing well. You are thinking like ‘I might be able to open my school one day. If I have 100 students and those students are paying me ‘X’ amount of dollars per month I can make a living. Holy shit this would be amazing.”
“And then you see your jiu jitsu school and your jiu jitsu instructor has all these students and drives a Mercedes, and he’s got a family. That’s the future. This way you are doing something exciting and fun,” Rogan continued.
He then stated, “Or you could just be playing f***ing video games. Three years later you could be that same kid just playing video games waiting for the next fix,whatever the f*** game is, the next Xbox game to come out, and you are going to waste your time.”
However, Rogan would then explain his own career path when he began pursuing comedy and indicated that he was glad no one was giving him advice to tell him to stop pursuing it or that not a lot of people make it.
Jeremy from the Quartering posted a video about it, describing Rogan’s opinion as a ‘boomer take.’
While critical of the comments, Jeremy also suggested that they weren’t entirely wrong, but perhaps could’ve been framed better:
Rogan’s comments received mixed reactions on Twitter, with some fans agreeing with his assertions and others taking issue with what they perceived as ignorance toward video games.
One user wrote, “Joe Rogan is fundamentally right on video games; they essentially trick your brains’ reward center into rewarding you for something which is not actually productive at all- that being said it doesn’t matter. Gaming is not a problem. Humans have always had ways to accomplish this.”
Popular streamer Ninja responded writing, “Joe Rogan gaming comment thoughts video. Mind was kinda everywhere but wanted to get a little vid out to explain it sooner rather than later.”
Joe Rogan gaming comment thoughts video.
Mind was kinda everywhere but wanted to get a little vid out to explain it sooner rather than later.
ALSO! Enjoy the full emo hair Ninj right now 🤪 pic.twitter.com/fgb92vUVtF
— Ninja (@Ninja) July 26, 2020
Another Twitter user wrote, “This Rogan gaming bs again highlights how shit capitalism is. Having a hobby is considered “wasting time” when you could be out earning more money. What a miserable life.”
They added, “Or should I say spending time doing something that could potentially make you money. Imagine the freedom of not having every decision you make revert back to money.”
Another added, “Joe Rogan is trying to mix Passion/Hobbies/Money in order to generalize a stereotypical gamer. People don’t get into Gaming saying JACKPOT! “cha ching” instead, they pour their heart & energy into something their passionate about, then build on that.”
THey added, “while completely dismissing the eSports side of things. What, ‘getting anywhere’, means to you, might not mean the same as ‘getting anywhere’ to me… Sometimes, that’s actually where all someone might want to go even if it goes against your logic of ‘getting anywhere’.”
The split in responses shows that Rogan may be on to something.
Even before a person decides to build a career centered around gaming, whether it’s in eSports, game journalism, or streaming, that person usually has a number of years invested in game time.
Those hours and days are time spent chasing the ending of a particular game, exploring every nook and cranny of a game’s world, or trying to beat other players to gain that respect as a top PVP player.
Ultimately, the time one spends playing adds up, and it is time that you never get back.
Popular YouTube journalist, streamer, and gamer Upper Echelon Gaming did a video on the matter, offering his own opinion that Rogan wasn’t wrong, but simply used a false equivalency to explain his stance.
I personally believe that Joe Rogan was ultimately correct in noting that, as with all things in life, moderation in gaming is recommended.
Even if the average gamer doesn’t have aspirations of going into the gaming sphere in some sort of professional capacity, players should take care to spend time exploring other avenues, such as physical activity or other hobbies.
Like any habit or enjoyable activity, without moderation, gaming can easily bloom into an addiction that hurts both players and those around them.
What do you make of Joe Rogan’s comments? Share your thoughts below.