Economists have once again pointed a finger at escapist fantasy as the potential downfall of civilization -- with video games the most recent scapegoat -- due to young people supposedly finding their increasingly realistic escapism more appealing than work. And yet tabletop role-playing games are even more engaging than video games...so why haven't they heralded the end of the world as we know it?
[h=3]What the Economists Said[/h]The Economist uses a lot of words phrases like"could" and "it would not be surprising" to reference what's happening in the video game world and, more broadly, society at large:
The issue is the acceleration of unemployment rate among men in their 20s without a college education, which dropped from 82% to 72%. These men, who often live at home with their parents, spend each hour less at work in leisure activities, 75% of that time playing video games. The Economist posits:
It's perhaps “not surprising” that the study The Economist quoted eventually zeroed in on leisure activities like gaming:
Video games aren’t the only fantasy world being scapegoated. Cosplayers apparently share the blame as well.
[h=3]Cosplayers: The Downfall of Civilization?[/h]For young people in Japan, economic growth has been stagnant for two decades. Stagnation after the 80s real-estate collapse, combined with labor laws that make it difficult to let older workers go, have trapped young adults in Japan in lower-income careers, which delays them moving out, getting married, and having children. Masahiro Yamada made a familiar argument about why these young people are turning towards fantasy worlds in the Financial Times :
James Pethokoukis picked up Yamada's thread:
Pethokoukis makes the argument that U.S. economic growth, averaging 1% annually since 2006, coupled with a surge in convention attendance and cosplay popularity, puts America on a parallel track to Japan where “young people give up on reality”:
The concern seems to be that gaming is too good as what it does, offering rewards and incentivizing players much better than real life:
It’s not hard to see how this line of thinking leads to tabletop games, board games, card games, and indeed just about every other leisure activity enjoyed by young people as somehow being to blame for society’s ills.
[h=3]Why This is Nonsense[/h]There's a lot of things wrong with the conclusion these articles draw, not the least of which is that correlation does not imply causation. Simply put, the rise of unemployment and gaming does not necessarily mean that fantasy escapism causes unemployment. We already have a narratively complex, more social and more affordable form of gaming with the most realistic graphics ever: tabletop role-playing games. And despite claims to the contrary, tabletop gamers haven't caused a wave of unemployment. Pethokoukis concludes the real problem isn’t the fantasy at all:
Rob Bricken put it this way on io9 :
Ryan Avent in The Economist concludes:
The problem with young people leaving the workforce may have much less to do with escapist fantasy and much more to do with the state of the modern workplace. Jane McGonigal explains in "Reality is Broken" that we need to flip the script. If society feels threatened by gaming, maybe it's time it borrowed some concepts to make reality better:
In the future, we may all be gamers.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
[h=3]What the Economists Said[/h]The Economist uses a lot of words phrases like"could" and "it would not be surprising" to reference what's happening in the video game world and, more broadly, society at large:
In 2016 the video-gaming industry racked up sales of about $100bn, making it one of the world’s largest entertainment industries. The games on offer run the gamut from time-wasting smartphone apps to immersive fantasy worlds in which players can get lost for days or weeks. Indeed, the engrossing nature of games is itself cause for concern.
The issue is the acceleration of unemployment rate among men in their 20s without a college education, which dropped from 82% to 72%. These men, who often live at home with their parents, spend each hour less at work in leisure activities, 75% of that time playing video games. The Economist posits:
Over the same period games became far more graphically and narratively complex, more social and, relative to other luxury items, more affordable. It would not be surprising if the satisfaction provided by such games kept some people from pursuing careers as aggressively as they otherwise might (or at all).
It's perhaps “not surprising” that the study The Economist quoted eventually zeroed in on leisure activities like gaming:
What these individuals are not doing is clear enough, says Erik Hurst, an economist at the University of Chicago, who has been studying the phenomenon. They are not leaving home; in 2015 more than 50% lived with a parent or close relative. Neither are they getting married. What they are doing, Hurst reckons, is playing video games. As the hours young men spent in work dropped in the 2000s, hours spent in leisure activities rose nearly one-for-one. Of the rise in leisure time, 75% was accounted for by video games. It looks as though some small but meaningful share of the young-adult population is delaying employment or cutting back hours in order to spend more time with their video game of choice.
Video games aren’t the only fantasy world being scapegoated. Cosplayers apparently share the blame as well.
[h=3]Cosplayers: The Downfall of Civilization?[/h]For young people in Japan, economic growth has been stagnant for two decades. Stagnation after the 80s real-estate collapse, combined with labor laws that make it difficult to let older workers go, have trapped young adults in Japan in lower-income careers, which delays them moving out, getting married, and having children. Masahiro Yamada made a familiar argument about why these young people are turning towards fantasy worlds in the Financial Times :
People are escaping to the virtual worlds of games, animation and costume play. Here even the young and poor can feel as though they are a hero.
James Pethokoukis picked up Yamada's thread:
Then again, they do have plenty of time to dress up like wand-wielding sailor girls and cybernetic alchemist soldiers from the colorful world of anime cartoons and manga comics.
Pethokoukis makes the argument that U.S. economic growth, averaging 1% annually since 2006, coupled with a surge in convention attendance and cosplay popularity, puts America on a parallel track to Japan where “young people give up on reality”:
When you're disillusioned with the reality of your early adult life, dressing up like Doctor Who starts looking better and better.
The concern seems to be that gaming is too good as what it does, offering rewards and incentivizing players much better than real life:
The economists who worry about the seductive power of gaming fear that gamers who miss the scheduled step away from virtual play and into a proper adulthood will never “level up” to that truly immersive competitive experience. Instead, they become stuck at a phase of the game which no longer satisfies, yet which they cannot move beyond. The designers of the game of life, such as they are, may have erred in structuring the game in a way that encourages young people to seek an alternate reality…Unsurprisingly, some players are giving up, while others are filling the time not taken up in rewarding, well-compensated work with games painstakingly designed to make them feel good.
It’s not hard to see how this line of thinking leads to tabletop games, board games, card games, and indeed just about every other leisure activity enjoyed by young people as somehow being to blame for society’s ills.
[h=3]Why This is Nonsense[/h]There's a lot of things wrong with the conclusion these articles draw, not the least of which is that correlation does not imply causation. Simply put, the rise of unemployment and gaming does not necessarily mean that fantasy escapism causes unemployment. We already have a narratively complex, more social and more affordable form of gaming with the most realistic graphics ever: tabletop role-playing games. And despite claims to the contrary, tabletop gamers haven't caused a wave of unemployment. Pethokoukis concludes the real problem isn’t the fantasy at all:
It's not to say that all or even most cosplay aficionados are struggling to find work. It's only to say that any rise in people fleeing reality for fantasy suggests problems with our reality.
Rob Bricken put it this way on io9 :
If our economy is driving people to escape from reality, then perhaps television, movies, sports, books, alcohol, drugs, and videogames might be somewhat more recognizable factors than cosplayers. And if that's the case, then I also have to wonder if maybe — just maybe — this desire to escape is true of people of all ages who are...struggling to find jobs and to hold them, who resent their lack of advancement, or more likely their lack of anything resembling job security.
Ryan Avent in The Economist concludes:
A society that dislikes the idea of young men gaming their days away should perhaps invest in more dynamic difficulty adjustment in real life. And a society which regards such adjustments as fundamentally unfair should be more tolerant of those who choose to spend their time in an alternate reality, enjoying the distractions and the succour it provides to those who feel that the outside world is more rigged than the game.
The problem with young people leaving the workforce may have much less to do with escapist fantasy and much more to do with the state of the modern workplace. Jane McGonigal explains in "Reality is Broken" that we need to flip the script. If society feels threatened by gaming, maybe it's time it borrowed some concepts to make reality better:
Game developers know better than anyone else how to inspire extreme effort and reward hard work. They know how to facilitate cooperation and collaboration at previously unimaginable scales. And they are continuously innovating new ways to motivate players to stick with harder challenges, for longer, and in much bigger groups. These crucial twenty-first-century skills can help all of us find new ways to make a deep and lasting impact on the world around us.
In the future, we may all be gamers.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
