Gaming online helps us connect with friends and make new ones. It helps us with making new friends.
In the gaming space, videogames became popular in the 1970s and 1980s with the introduction of arcade parlors. In the early 90’s, gaming consoles and home computer games were introduced to the general public allowing gaming to move into the home.
The internet is becoming easier and easier to get access to and use, so playing games and talking to people in another place or another country is very easy. It helps us connect with more people and maintain relationships that don’t have to be in the same place or country. I have friends in Vietnam I haven’t seen for a year, but we can still talk in-game which allows me to keep connected to the country of my birth and childhood friends.
Games can help you mentally. For example, if you have a bad day, you can talk with your mom, your dad, or your friends. However, if they’re the reason you’re mad, without the internet, you have no one. With the internet then you have access to so many more people to talk and play with.
Having friends in-game helps with your relationship in real life. For example: I have a friend in Vietnam, Minh (Ben), and when he plays Roblox he knows one friend, his name is Bacon on Roblox. They play games together and when I come back to Vietnam, we go the cinema together. We have a great time and I get to reconnect with friends.
Online gaming is often the only option for some people to socialise or maintain social connections.