All the Ways Video Games (and Gamers) Are Portrayed in Media

Avid Gamers Are Overweight and Unhealthy

It’s not uncommon to see gamers depicted as grossly overweight people who are unkempt and simply rotting away in front of a computer or television screen. Who can forget NWBZPWNR from South Park? Commonly referred to simply as “the World of Warcraft” guy, NWBZPWNR is a textbook example of how the media still struggles without figuring out what gamers actually look like and what kind of lives they live. This is not to suggest that these characters aren’t often pretty hilarious in many cases but such characters, nonetheless, support a stereotype about gamers that simply misrepresents the gaming community as a whole.