INTRODUCTION:

Every gamer knows the feeling of being told off by parents for not going outside to meet up with friends and be social with one another. In fact, it is said by many people that gamers tend to be introverts who spend most of their time indoors, playing single-player games and locking themselves in their rooms, surviving off red bull and biscuits. It really gets annoying, especially when you know you are keeping in contact with all your friends through the wonderful world of gaming, video call and voice chat. I mean, isn’t it boring playing all by yourself, with no one to joke around with you whilst you slay the final boss together. Co-op has become a huge feature in gaming and has revolutionized the way people use gaming to be more social with each other. It has also become a big talking point, especially in this pandemic. In fact, WHO (World Health Organization) have said that gaming is the best way to communicate with your friends and maintain a great distance from each other geographically. In this article, I will be talking about how gaming is a great way to socialize with your friends, meet new people and generally have fun playing with other gamers online.

HOW GAMING CAN HELP BUILD YOU SELF-CONFIDENCE WITH COMMUNITIES AND FRIENDS:

One thing I have struggled with for most of my life is that I found it really difficult to talk to different people. I always would just talk to my friends that I have known for many years. What I lacked was self-confidence, I didn't think I had the social skills to talk to new people and make new friends. However, I’m not the only one who struggled making friends and introducing themselves to people in the real world. In fact, a survey commissioned by Evite showed that out of 2000 adults, 45% of adults find it hard making new friends.(1) But saying that, I was able to build my confidence through gaming. Yes, the very thing that is said to be ‘a distraction from the real world’ was actually able to help me meet new people and create fantastic friendships I didn’t think were possible. It was actually really simple for me, and I’m sure that you will find it really easy too. What I did was I found a multiplayer game that I found interesting and was willing to play. I also checked to see if the game had a great community, one that isn’t extremely toxic. Once I did that, I decided to find new people who I can relate to and play with. I made sure that I was friendly to them, and I also made sure they weren’t a bad influence. After that, I made a group/guild. From this, I was able to connect with even more people from around the world who were also looking to join a guild to complete missions. The final step for me was to talk to them about what I learnt. Through this, I was able to meet a new community that had welcomed me into their friendship group.(2) I was extremely grateful for them and they are still some of my best friends. If you are struggling, I recommend you follow what I did. Gaming was able to help me make new friends and build my self-confidence, something I couldn’t have done without video games. And I am not the only one who has been able to make new friends through gaming with other people.

HOW GAMING CAN BE A SAFE HAVEN FOR MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE:

Bullying people is extremely wrong and looked down on by a huge amount of people. However, bullying occurs every single day and is a serious problem. A lot of people who are bullied are usually lost and don’t really know what to do. A lot of people do turn to video games as an option. It is an easy way to drift out of reality and have fun playing video games. It is a great and safe option for many people, especially if you find the right community to play with. It helps many types of people escape the real world and helps them feel safe. These include people who are: autistic, shy, depressed, have anxiety and are scared of the real world. In fact, video games are a great way for people who need help to talk to new people and feel more reassured that the world is safe and friendly. It also helps as the player can talk to whoever they want and whenever they want to. Research showed that people who meet online, then meet in real life are more likely to be better friends that many other people. This is logical as when you meet online, you can talk about anything you want to, without being nervous to speak, unlike in real life, where you are face to face with the other person. It also builds trust as you can open up more online and share how you feel with them. However, this does come with a lot of dangers, like child predators and kidnappers. If someone feels suspicious, do not hesitate to report them. There are also lots of websites which can help you avoid people like that.(3) Also, never meet up with someone you have just met online. You should first get to know the person, and if you can, try and do a video call to see how they really look like. A video is the best way to catch a predator as it would be very difficult to fake being someone you aren’t. The best thing to do though is to not meet up in person unless you are with someone else like a parent. One day, bullying will end, however, we have to adapt to how it is today, and a way to feel safe is through video games.(4)

HOW GAMING CAN HELP PEOPLE CONNECT WITH MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE ONLINE AND SOCIALLY INTERACT WITH THEM:

Playing video games on your own can get extremely boring, especially when you have been sitting there for many hours to yourself, wishing you could have help defeating the final boss. It can be really upsetting being on your own. This is where video games step in. A report showed that 70% of gamers play games with their friends and other people. A great way to connect to people online is to meet people just like you. It would be an easy way to find and relate to new people, making it easy to become friends. Another way to make new friends and connect to the world is to push your limits. What I mean by this is to put yourself out there and be confident with yourself, you will be surprised at how many people would wanna socialize with you. Making new friends is a great thing and helps you connect with new people.(5)

CONCLUSION

To summarise, the main points I have talked about is how video games can build your self-confidence, how video games can be a safe haven for many people and how videogames can help people connect with many other people online. I believe that gaming is the best way to boost your social skills and confidence as it has helped me a lot and has actually worked for me and many others who may have not been confident at first, or didn’t feel safe. Just like WHO said, gaming is the best way to socialize in this time of crisis and who knows, maybe you could make new friends in this pandemic.

1. https://www.studyfinds.org/survey-average-american-hasnt-made-new-friend-in-5-years/#:~:text=A%20recent%20survey%20reveals%20that,Americans%20struggle%20with%20new%20friendships.
2. https://medium.com/@dallas.blowers/how-video-games-can-build-your-self-confidence-6b06b87b8621
3. https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/

4. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/video-game-health/201901/video-games-are-social-spaces
5. https://www.videogames.org.au/social-development/