Games against loneliness?

by: Rafael Gutierrez

Winter is almost here and that means hibernation might be on the menu for many of us. While avoiding social isolation is a key component to keeping a healthy mindset during the cold months, did you know nowadays this can be achieved through video games? A recent study confirmed the importance of social video games for connection with others. That means all the fun memories of playing games online with your friends are now scientifically proven to be good for you.

The paper, published in 2023, studied the cases of 45 participants from ages 12 to 73 who played social games during quarantine in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers followed these player’s habits and experiences before, during and after the global health crisis. Due to social distancing, the usual physical spaces for socialization were greatly reduced or outright gone. While video games as entertainment were an obvious go-to for a population who was shut in, scared and in desperate need for distraction, the social component of these games was a beacon of wellbeing that drew many in.

During the years of the pandemic, social games made great breakthroughs in the charts of the most-played. From trading turnips in Animal Crossing to accusing fellow astronauts of murder in Among Us, games that made us interact with other human beings became almost the only way to bond with strangers and spend quality time with our friends.

(Image taken from: Among Us Steam page)

The study conducted by Mary E. Ballard and Michael T. Spencer shows that for people playing social games during the pandemic, the games became signicantly more important to them. Not just for seeking fun, but also in relation to bonding.

“Social gaming was a safe and fun way to interact with others during this period,” say Ballard and Spencer in their peer-reviewed article. And though it would seem logical to most that a pandemic causing social distancing measures would see a rise in the importance of social gaming, another unexpected conclusion also came to light during this study that surprised its authors.

Even though the initial hypothesis expected the rise in importance of social games during COVID-19, the researchers expected the curve to fall again after the social distancing measures were lifted. However, this was not the case. It seems once people were free to socialize out in public once more, social games and their relation to connections with others still seemed to be perceived highly by the study subjects.

(Image: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0)

In a way, this could suggest that something in the gaming world has shifted. Perhaps, more than that, something in the way people bond during contemporary times has transformed into a more digital sort of activity and it took a global pandemic for us to recognize it more clearly. But, be it a pandemic that drives us appart, or a especially cold winter, or maybe just a weekend when you don’t feel like going out; games as a possibility to for connections with others is a now proven option for combating loneliness.

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