Because it comes In the end, it’s hard to admit that 2021 is just a small improvement over 2020. Covid-19, political unrest around the world, climate catastrophe — all the stress of the previous year has turned into the new. The result is another 12 months taxing people’s mental health and causing many of them to seek refuge wherever they can be found, often in video games.
To be sure, I am definitely in this camp. Over the past year, my relationship with gaming has changed a lot, from a pastime to something I do to cope. As the parent of an unvaccinated child, it’s hard to get out; playing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition or Horizon Zero Dawn is the only chance I have to explore. “There is no doubt that gaming can be beneficial for mental health,” says Megan Connell, a psychologist specializing in the therapeutic use of games. “Games provide time for us to rest and relax. They keep us happy.” But as the year went on, I struggled with something else: The knowledge that the game had became incredibly valuable to me, they were an outlet not everyone has.
This difference becomes apparent every time I look around my house. I have not only a recent iPhone and iPad, but also a Mac, PlayStation 5, and a Nintendo Switch OLEDand I have access to a Xbox Series X (technically my husband’s). My gaming setup also uses a 4K projector with a 120-inch screen, so when gaming, I’m completely immersed. None of this is meant to be a brag. It’s just that the longer I’m surrounded by my devices, the more I’ve realized that getting the mental health benefits from gaming goes hand in hand with being able to purchasable gaming.
Sure, there are ways to play for free—many titles are free, and mobile games are generally inexpensive. Subscriptions and sale events can also help ease the financial impact, but that doesn’t change the fact that the barrier to entry — the cost of consoles, PCs, and other devices — has very high body.
And that assumes you can even arrive Hardware; The latest PS5 and Xbox are still difficult to find, even a year after launch. And the OLED Switch doesn’t get much easier — I bought my own because I was so excited when I saw one in stock I bought it right away without a second thought. Many people don’t have the time, resources, or disposable income to consume this type of console, especially when you consider buying a second-hand device or the cost of trying to build a gaming PC in the short term. chip shortage.
Earlier this year, at the end of summer, I write about How excited I am to bring my Switch out into the world. It’s not that I’m so attached to video games that I can’t stand going to the park without them; It is after months of incarceration that gaming has become a way to relieve social anxiety. Playing Block effect achieved the same result when I was at home. Don’t get me wrong, staying out of the game for too long can be detrimental — Connell agrees — but at a time when people need to take breaks where they can get them, gaming is proven. is very important. The point is, it’s not a break that everyone can grasp.
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