this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2023
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How old is your mom, 80? People in their 40s and 50s played Atari and are pretty familiar with video games. This joke is dying quickly.
Although that is true, they might not be as familiar with the concept of online multiplayer games, which rose in popularity much later. The odds of someone's parents having played, for example, Quake or Unreal Tournament in their childhoods are considerably lower.
Quake was released in 1996, 27 years ago. College students likely played Quake at the time.
"Mom" likely knows her shit.
Am a 41 year old dad who grew up with Quake, Doom, and Unreal Tournament, and now have a 12 year old son who is also growing up on games. The boomers who didn't have a clue are dying. Those were OUR parents who didn't know diddly squat about gaming, not this generation's parents.
I think you are right. There are many people in their 40s who grew up with online games, my father included :). Although I am still fairly certain that online games weren't as prevalent back then as they are today, thus many parents don't quite grasp the concept.
EDIT: I would like to add that even people who didn't play online games, such as my mother, still played on the atari, for example, and know the concept of "unpauseable" games. So I think that it mostly comes down to demographic. In my group of school friends (a few years ago) some parents were in the know and others weren't.
Well, in your bubble maybe. I can assure you the majority of people your age barely grasp the concept of the internet, let alone online gaming. Same goes for people in their 20s. It's like cars for many people. Sure, they know very well how to use them, but have no idea about what other people do with their cars, like racing or off-roading. They might have some rough idea of what it probably is, but no clue about all the intricacies.
Nowadays most people use the internet, but that doesn't mean they understand the pain when someone leaves your online match. Not everybody is playing online games, let alone online games where a leaving teammate actually matters.
I'm 46. Quake came out when I was 19. Of course I know about Quake.
Who do you think was playing Quake and Unreal Tournament if not the parents of today's youth?
My wife of a year younger than me is the mom in the meme. I'm 35. The joke is still alive!
If you ever played an Atari 2600, you understand the concept of an unpauseable game you play at home.