Friends will be friends: preconceptions and realities of gaming
Video games are a much more social activity that they get credit for.
Even now, lots of people hear the word “gamer” and think of a gross, unpleasant teen boy, locked away in his room, that spends all day playing alone and eating junk food.
And, although those characters surely exist, the numbers show a much more diverse group: 86% of internet users play video games, beyond age, gender or income level. Clearly, not all of them share the same lifestyle.
A shared pastime
One of the misconceptions about gaming is that it’s a solitary activity for antisocial people. However, according to a 2014 study, people who identify as gamers are more social, optimistic, successful, socially conscious and family oriented than non gamers, and 72% of them play with friends.
The truth is multiplayer games have been around since the late ’70s, and since the internet exists, connecting with people all around the world has become easier and easier. When social networks became popular, a new breed of games was born, designed to keep people on the sites but also reward interaction with other users. Nowadays, the ubiquitous smartphone allows us to play online anytime, anywhere.
All these technologies and platforms let us play with or against people we know, but also get to know the people we play with, with no need to go to an arcade, somebody’s house, a LAN party or a cyber café. And when people get together, be it in the most casual of games or to plan a complex campaign, there’s room for the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Besides, live streams and gameplays — that are, as we have explained, an important part of gaming nowadays — create a community and a real-time conversation with other enthusiasts.
In spite of all these experiences, there are those that insist that video game friendships don’t count, dismissing them as less authentic or less important than offline ones.
But in 2019, when most of our relationships are as mediated by the internet as they were by the telephone 30 years ago, it seems a bit arbitrary. Why should spending time with friends be the only thing we don’t do on the web?
It’s also true that, just like in any other mass online community, there can be aggression, sexism, discrimination and overall toxicity. However, it must be said that this isn’t limited to gaming, nor is it the only kind of relationship players form.
At the end of the day, it’s clear that video games are just another way of connecting with others. Hopefully, one that creates more pleasant moments that problems.
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