From the ancestral classics to the expansive projects of today, video games have been a part of our global culture for almost half a century. Beginning with simple games like Pong, Tetris and Pac-Man, video games have progressed into virtual worlds that connect communities across countries and continents.

But sometimes, when we see something that we’re afraid of, or are unfamiliar with, we take a cautious, apprehensive stance.

“Violent video games make people violent,” some are quick to say, or, "That guy who sits in his room and plays video games all day is a loner."

As adolescents, we are arguably at our most vulnerable. The biggest argument for those against violent video games is that they have a significant, negative effect on children. Actually, that’s not entirely true.

In a November 2014 article by James Vincent of The Independent, it was reported that psychologist Christopher Ferguson of Stetson University conducted a study pointing to a decrease in youth violence “despite maintaining very high levels of media violence in society with the introduction of video games.”

For some reason, we haven't consistently covered the good side of video games, and, instead, have only tried to link them to mass shootings and other acts of violence and indecency. Maybe it’s because of its lack of popularity; or because it only appeals to a small niche; or because it’s immature and only children play video games. Whatever the reason, I'm sure it's compelling...

Also, I think a significant problem is the stigma that video games carry. For those that don’t play video games much, or don't know someone who does, we sometimes imagine gamers as obese, middle-aged men with glasses, a neckbeard, acne and, ultimately, as people who probably haven’t socialized with another human being in over a week.

But in an age of (im)personal social interactions, with social media leading the way, video games have become more social than ever.

Take a look at these online multiplayer games that basically force players to be social by excluding the option to play a single-player game: Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, Team Fortress 2, League of Legends, Guild Wars...the list is virtually endless.

Yet, for some reason, we try to convince ourselves that video games aren't social because we can't possibly imagine that sitting in our own bedrooms in front of a TV or computer screen constitutes "being social." But it does.

Our abilities to solve problems, have fun, compete, etc. are not limited to face-to-face interactions. That's why our phone calls and text messages still carry meaning. Modern video games build on that very basic interaction of communicating, and add interactive aspects to the package.

There are stories of players on World of Warcraft, a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), that have met online and eventually been married. Think about that: A video game brought two people together who might not have ever met in person.

And sure, we can look back to the pre-popular online gaming era when people would fly solo with games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Super Mario 64; even then, the challenges in those games had us talking among our friends at school. Let's not forget about those nights with our friends hyped up on soda and candy while battling it out in Super Smash Bros.

Anyway, when we talk about the social utility of video games, it's easiest to first find comparisons between people who play video games and those who don't.

The easiest comparison is sports. Electronic sports, or eSports, are competitive video game tournaments. In a country dominated by other sports like football, basketball and baseball, it's hard to imagine that playing video games could possibly generate the same kind of buzz. But it did.

According to Super Data Research via a USA Today article from 2013, 32 million people watched the League of Legends Season 3 World Championship, while 26.4 million watched the BCS National Championship, 26.3 million watched Game 7 of the NBA Finals, an average of 15.7 million watched the NCAA Basketball Final Four, and 14.9 million watched the MLB World Series. On top of that, approximately 18,000 people attended the event live at a sold-out Staples Center, the same stadium that the Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe!) play in. Also, it's reported that there are 67 million monthly users worldwide that play League of Legends. In the United States, there are approximately 24 million people who play basketball, and nine million playing football.

And if that wasn't enough for you, there are schools that now offer athletic scholarships for students to play video games; that's right, I said athletic. John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune wrote an article in 2014 reporting that, as of the 2014 fall semester, Robert Morris University would be the first school in the United States to offer athletic scholarships to play League of Legends.

Furthermore, when we talk about the popularity of video games, I think it's easiest if we look at South Korea. While not very popular, if at all apparent, in the United States, there are computer hubs called "PC bangs," which literally translates to "PC rooms" in South Korea. They're basically Internet cafes with the best computer hardware you can get to play the latest video games.

Also in South Korea, we have to look at one of the most penetrating media avenues: Television. One particular TV channel in South Korea, OnGameNet, is a cable program that strictly broadcasts video games such as StarCraft, StarCraft 2 and League of Legends. Consider it an ESPN for video games, without random poker matches and excessive LeBron James coverage (sorry for the plug).

Ultimately, I think it's important for everyone to remember that we all enjoy our own hobbies. What might not be "cool" to one person might be the world to another person. And that doesn't just extend to video games; it could be anything. Playing video games may superficially seem like an antisocial activity, but clearly there's so much more to the world.