Gamers: Our Social Lives Are Better Than Yours
Adult gamers say they’ve made numerous friends since the pandemic, according to a new survey. They also claim to have top research skills and a great chance of finding a date.
Recently, I joked that my nephews might never meet a significant other, since they are essentially glued to their Xbox Series X consoles. But their dad commented that they might instead find someone while playing a game.
While this flies in the face of every stereotype of the lonely adult gamer sitting in their parents’ basement covered in Cheeto dust, a new survey indicates that console jockeys may indeed be better at making the most of the social aspect of multiplayer games than the rest of us.
OnePoll surveyed 2,000 US adults in December to find out how social online gamers are; the survey was commissioned by World of Warships and published at Talker.news. Gaming is so mainstream that using online gaming to build a real-life social network of friends has worked for many, especially during the previous year and a half. Sixty-four percent said gaming in general makes them feel less lonely. Buying new games makes them happy.
Things get a little wacky when gamers were asked how much impact games have on their daily knowledge. Fifty-seven percent said they “consider themselves experts on the topics they research thanks to video games,” which is kind of like saying you’re a plumber because you read up on Mario and Luigi. Many respondents also use movies, TV shows, and music to “beef up their knowledge.” Librarians die inside when they read such things.
But it’s heartening to think that 62% of the survey respondents claim games led them to new life goals. Hopefully, those goals include going outside.
Here’s the full infographic, and you can read about the results at Talker.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com.
