How Online Games Help Us Socialise During the Pandemic

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We have all had to learn to find alternative ways to fulfill our need for human contact over the last year, as restrictions meant we were unable to see family and friends for long stretches of time. One thing that lots of people have found comfort in has been online gaming.

Long regarded as a hobby for kids, many parents have begun to understand the value of online gaming for their children, and for themselves as well. Many parents have felt under pressure to spend more time with their children to replace the time they would otherwise have spent with friends at school.  Consequently, online games have provided lots of parents with some much-needed respite, as they can get on with other tasks safe in the knowledge that their children are developing their social skills and able to catch up with friends whom they miss by playing games with them online.

While kids are enjoying playing online games with their friends, their parents are able to spend some time looking after their own mental health. The pandemic has put pressures on everyone’s mental health, including parents who have had to juggle the pressures of working from home, possible redundancy, childcare while schools have been closed, and ensuring older relatives and neighbours are safe, fed and comfortable. The time off that parents get while online games fulfill their children’s needs for social interaction is crucial in keeping them healthy and happy.

Furthermore, online games have brought many kids and their parents closer together during a time when constant close proximity threatened to form cracks in relationships. Kids are always pleased to spend quality time with their parents, so when parents take an interest in something that is making their child happy this is a great foundation for a stronger relationship. Whilst we’ve all been trapped at home, lots of parents have taken the opportunity to join in with their kids in playing online games as a great way to have some fun and escape reality for a period of time. This development of stronger intergenerational relationships is one positive thing we will want to take from the past year.

For many people who have been living alone through the pandemic, online games have been a lifeline, providing them with social interaction that they would otherwise have been desperate for. The inability to meet up with loved ones has put a real strain on lots of people. Loneliness has affected an incredible number of people in the past year, yet online gaming has been a great tool for overcoming this. Whether it’s playing online games with existing friends and family, or finding new friends through a shared love of a game, online gaming has truly been a lifeline for many people. The sheer variety of games available now is fantastic as it means there really is something out there for everyone; so many sites now offer a wide variety of games to choose from to escape reality for an hour or two, such as Plays.org.

A lot of research has been carried out on the positive effect of online games on our mental health, which has been made clearer over the course of the last year. Researchers have found lots of incredible results, including the great effect online games have had on the mental health of older people, many of whom had never considered playing online games before. Additionally, researchers have been investigating the effect of online games on the rehabilitation of first responders suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While more research is required to make firm conclusions, it is believed that there could be many benefits of gaming on these individuals suffering from PTSD, as well as other mental health conditions.

With social distancing regulations slowly being lifted in some areas, it is important that we remember the good things to have come out of lockdown and try to take them with us into the post-pandemic world we are in the process of building. There are many things we will want to leave in the past, but online gaming is something we would be silly to forget about. In fact, the pandemic has brought into fine focus the many benefits that online gaming can bring to all our lives.