sports 8 hours a day, people idolize you. If you play video games 8 hours a day, you must be mentally ill.

How do you not see the difference between these two?

If you are playing sports 8 hours a day, chances are you are being paid to do so, you are socialising, you are doing something active and healthy.

That doesn't compare favourably to sitting in your hovel playing computer games, where you are not being paid, not socialising and doing something inactive and bad for your health.

spending 8 hours enjoying your gaming hobby is frowned upon, but spending 8 hours at a soul-sucking office job is perfectly fine?

Frowned upon because unless you're a teenager those 8 hours come at the expense of the shit you should be doing. Like working or studying or developing relationships.

As for the job, you are being paid for that, that money then gets used to fund your adult responsibilities. While you are there you socialising. Those soul sucking jobs are generally a means to and end.

As long as you're staying active outside of gaming and you're eating a balanced diet, there's nothing wrong with gaming a lot.

If you're playing RuneScape for 8 hours a day, I doubt you're living a healthy lifestyle. I doubt you're able to maintain a job, maintain friendships or romantic relationships.

In my teens, I was addicted to this game and used to play those kinds of hours and it ruined my social life, I neglected my studies and my physical and mental health went to shit. The best decision I made was quitting Runescape and spending that time more productively. I'm in my mid 20s now, with my own house, my own business, my own car and long term girlfriend. If I had never quit runescape, I would still be in my dark bedroom in my mums house.

Yes, it may be possible to live a healthy lifestyle and play 8 hours a day but don't try and pretend that is true for most people who spend that much time on RS.