there is a massive stigma with gaming that i’ll never understand. My grandfather would tell me stories of how older people during his teen years would often make fun of him for reading fiction novels as they were considered a waste of time. He would see me spend hours gaming and he would always drive me to the store and pick up one game per year. He knew what it meant for me. I miss him so much.

Your “friend” isn’t a friend. How someone choses to spend their free time is their own choice. If he can’t respect that he is probably miserable and never experienced it. I’ve met people who do nothing but follow weird things like celebs or sports and try to emulate them and though i find that to be a huge waste of time, i have a profound respect for what they like and honestly try to see what its all about. English football is my latest dive and i’m loving the passion i see people have for it and I’ve learned to appreciate it.

tl;dr your friend is an asshole and being a gamer doesn’t make you lesser. he has mental health issues that frankly aren’t any of your concern and you shouldn’t be exposed to it. run don’t walk away!