Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has been under quarantine in hospitals and homes for months. The outbreak was declared a pandemic in mid-March 2020 and WHO sent guidelines for people telling them to stay inside their homes at all costs. Only pharmacies and grocery stores are now open to the public while industries and markets have stayed closed off to the public for their own safety. During this perilous time, the world has now turned to different household activities to pass their time in quarantine. One of those activities is gaming. Gaming has been part of our lives for centuries. Through the years it has evolved exponentially and to this day it is still continuously evolving in order to allow players to get better experiences for entertainment. Presently, gaming has become the prime escape from boredom during world lockdown. Reports have indicated that during quarantine period, there has been an over 115 percent increase in video game use and millions of people have taken up gaming as a way to get through this trying time period.
The World Health Organization has teamed up with multiple gaming giants to support and encourage gaming during COVID-19 recrudescence. At the beginning of last year, WHO declared ‘Gaming Disorder’ and ‘Hazardous Gaming’ as official behavioral disorders. Though the gaming industry raised questions upon the insufficiency of studies that would prove these disorders. The primary focus remained on ‘gaming disorder’ while ‘hazardous gaming’ was not much of a topic for discussion anywhere. Gaming disorder was classified as “a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior”. However, there have been studies showing gaming disorder as not the problem but an escape from the real problem. The Oxford Internet Institute conducted a study with 1,004 subjects of 14-15 years of age from around UK. The subjects and their families or guardians were tasked with filling questionnaires about their gaming patterns and behaviors. A co-author of the study, Dr. Andrew Przybylski, said in a press release: “Our findings provided no evidence suggesting an unhealthy relationship with gaming accounts for substantial emotional, peer and behavioral problems. Instead, variations in gaming experience are much more likely to be linked to whether adolescents’ basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and social belonging are being met and if they are already experiencing wider functioning issues.”
On the other hand, there have also been documented cases of gaming addicts as well as online threads on sites like reddit where people have confessed to having gaming addiction and also ruining real life opportunities because of their addiction. One such example is the founder of GameQuitters, Cameron Adrian, who confessed online that gaming addiction became a major reason for him dropping out of high school twice and also caused him to struggle with depression. Adrian now runs an online platform GameQuitters for people who have succumbed to gaming addiction and aims to help those people. There are thousands of people against the idea of gaming disorder as an official and actual problem, but evidence to contrary also exists and is just as probable.
With that in mind, it is also true that WHO has collaborated with gaming industries to promote gaming as a healthy social activity in times of quarantine. Gaming is a perfect occupation for the population that is now forced to isolation during the pandemic. Gaming is especially effective in quarantine as a means of social interaction. Players can use gaming to keep in touch with their friends and get closer to family members. The gaming companies are also incorporating special events, activities and rewards in games to encourage the players to adhere to the quarantine and maintain distance from other people. The CEO of Activision said in a statement: “It’s never been more critical to ensure people stay safely connected to one another. Games are the perfect platform because they connect people through the lens of joy, purpose and meaning. We are proud to participate in such a worthwhile and necessary initiative.” Experts have also highlighted the importance of gaming during quarantine. Platinum Paragon, a Ph.D. student, researcher and the author of the Psychology and Video Games series has explained how gaming during quarantine is helping people due to three factors; 1) Games are immersive and interactive experiences. 2) The free time we have during quarantine can be spent indulging in something people have been feeling guilty over instead of just wasting it. 3) Games keep us connected to our friends and loved ones.
There is no doubt that games are playing a very important role in maintaining the mental health of people amid these stressful times. However, one must keep in mind the risks involved in gaming as well so as not to get too indulged in it for it to become an addiction. Games are made and played for entertainment and that is all it should be about. People having fun competing with other people while making allies and overcoming challenges together is the essence of gaming. It helps to develop the mindset of an individual and promotes teamwork. Gaming also helps to overcome social anxiety disorders and can lead to improved cognitive abilities and enhanced memory. The decision of WHO in promoting gaming during quarantine is also based in the fact that people need contact in order to maintain mental stability, and one of the best ways to do that is through online gaming where no one is ever off limits and anyone can connect to their friends anywhere and anytime. This is an activity that should be promoted more and more, especially during this time period as it can be a great help in order to keep people both indoors and mentally healthy.
