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Online gaming was first introduced to the world in the form of MUDs, with the first MUD1 launching in 1978. Since then, online games have come a long way, from the world of warcraft to call of duty; the rapid increase of the online gaming industry was almost imminent.
Now, there are thousands of online games for gamers to choose from, both paid and free. All you need is a good PC and a stable network connection. Many initially thought that sitting on the sofa and gaming for hours was rather anti-social but were proved wrong yet again with the emergence of social media and the ability for gamers to create a whole community around popular online games.
Effect of the Pandemic
Especially during COVID, gamers, and people, in general, have taken to online gaming to spend some time with friends. Research shows that online gaming with friends helps create bonds with them like anything ever recorded before. It’s more fun to lose an online game with friends than win a game alone. Through gaming, many have found an outlet for a much-needed connection in isolation.
This trend in online fun isn’t new as there are also other similar escapades from the isolation that people enjoy, such as; Netflix Celebration film viewings with friends and family, zoom chats, and most importantly, video games.
Why is Online Gaming great?
What makes online games more effective than just regular zoom calls and similar entertainments is that it adds the fun aspect to them. These games refrain from making conversation dry, and gamers could sit on them for hours on end without getting bored.
Boredom, according to Dutch philosopher Soren Kierkegaard is one of 3 ills to affect the human psyche in a dangerous manner, boredom often leads to anxiety which can have you question everything, and as soon as you give in, it leads to the worst kind of ill, despair.
The concept of human lives has always been the race against time; what do men do with their time? If they choose to get bored, it could make them more culpable to despair, which could have catastrophic effects on the human psyche. Online games with buddies prevent that exact conundrum.
The psychological effects of your human mind in solitude are far worse than anything the real world throws at you, and online gaming is just a bridge between desire and self-happiness.
Some popular online games you can enjoy
There are plenty of specific games that people play to interact together; a very recent popular game is ‘among us. Others include:
- PUBG
- Counter-strike Global Offensive
- GTA 5
- DOTA
- League of Legends
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Online escape rooms.
- Apex Legends
- Valorant
- Elder Scrolls Online
The fascinating aspect of online Games is how you can connect to other people and have an amazing experience. Online escape rooms and other such games that depend on co-operation and teamwork help in improving mood and engagement.
Online games like this are an escape for many in lockdown where their biggest enemy isn’t money but their minds. Socializing is a key element to happiness, and with these lockdowns, many people have succumbed to their own thoughts.
Online Gaming and Mental Health
It is never a good thing when individuals start talking about their existence and purpose in life, especially all alone in their apartment or home with no one to bounce off their feelings with.
Mark Griffiths, a professor at Nottingham Trent Faculty, has written about gaming friendships throughout the pandemic. In 2003, he ran a study on 11000 gamers who played an online game called “Everquest,” and the results he found were expected yet perceptual. He found that 1 in 4 Everquest players’ favorite part of the game wasn’t the game itself, but it was connecting with other players.
This just further proved that the analysis was a direct and early contradiction to stereotypical beliefs that video games are isolating. This is not true; if you have ever visited an escape room or played an online version, you will know this. Just like escape rooms, online gaming is immersive, helps you connect with people, and improves your mood and stability.
Humans are sentient beings who live off of social interactions, proven through the study that concluded that most people on the planet were extroverts rather than introverts. Humans can and will never be solitary creatures, and online games are just the new juxtapose to traditional gaming criticisms.
The reality of Online Gaming
Despite what the boomers think about gaming, online gaming is far more effective at bringing people together than any other means, solely because gaming with like-minded people only brings you closer to them based on things you have in common and not further.
The fallacy of individualism is apparent, and people are starting to see the gaps individualistic beliefs can have on collectivism and, inevitably, self-identity. Individuals are attracted to others with similar beliefs and ideologies, not other individuals with anti-individualistic beliefs and/or tendencies.
Online gaming proves to everyone that a group is best formed on common ideologies and not individualism or collectivism. The sanctity of the human psyche needs a like-minded individual to function to the best of their capacity, and gaming is one step closer to bridging that ideal common ground with social beliefs.
Conclusion
In summation, online games are one of the ideal outlets that connect like-minded people together and create an unbreakable social bubble of sanity and self-respect. The games are individually there just to fill the gap left for the boring, dry talk and create conversation on an everyday basis for the sake of our social systems.
The average human is forever in need of other like-minded individuals to fill the void, and video games are just the perfect medium to wipe out the disorientation and despair left behind by anti-social norms.
Author Bio: Sophia Scott is a content creator at escaperoom.com. She’s a passionate young woman, mother to an amazing nine-year-old, and an avid reader. Over the years, writing has helped her explore and understand the world as well as her own self. She loves to travel, meet new people, and spend quality time with her daughter.
Photo credit: Unsplash
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