3 Reasons Why So Many Young Men Are Unemployed Gaming Addicts

It‘s Much More Than Just Laziness

Photo by Mike Meyers on Unsplash

I have a friend in Colorado who has never held a full-time job despite recently celebrating his 21st birthday. Let’s call him Cornelius IV.

Cornelius IV never went to college. Instead, he spends all of his time doing whatever he pleases, from exploring new hobbies to the most addicting hobby of them all: video games.

He probably games at least 10 hours each day. That’s almost two full-time jobs every week.

You’re probably expecting me to go on about how miserable and depressed he is and how he can’t pass any job interviews no matter how hard he tries. But that would be a glaring lie.

He’s an absolute blast to be around, both in-person and digitally. Cornelius IV is witty, extremely bright, and, most of all, happy.

But he must be incredibly lonely, right?

Wrong.

After thousands of hours playing online multiplayer games, he has amassed a fleet of friends in his city and from all across the globe. Cornelius IV has even gone on a few vacations with them, flying across the country to be with his digital brethren.

I know this won’t keep up forever. Eventually, my friend will find a career path that genuinely intrigues him or go the freelance or entrepreneur route.

But it always puzzled me why he seemed so full of life compared to my 9–5 friends who “achieved the dream.” And he’s not the only one. I know of several others who have rage quit the “American Dream” altogether and most genuinely seem… happier. Many Medium articles also back up this claim.

After observing this growing phenomenon for the past several years, I can identify at least 3 reasons why quitting your job to play video games can be infinitely more enjoyable.

#1: The Rat Race

Many people are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the typical 9–5 life-suck that many white-collar jobs truly are.

We have watched our parents grind away for decade after decade, sacrificing their time, youth, and energy for corporations that discard them the second it’s financially beneficial to do so.