Blurring The Lines Between Social Media & Online Gaming

Blurring the Lines Between Social Media and Online Gaming

WORDS BY DONNA AMO

Social media has become a preferred medium for human interactions. In recent years, sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram have grown into multibillion-dollar companies with millions of people signing up every day. Games on the other hand, have long been a part of human history. Simple board games like chess, backgammon, checkers, etc., are played in social gatherings and are used as a form of entertainment. Through the years, the medium of playing games have evolved from board games to applications on mobile and laptop screens. Out of these, video games have emerged as one of the most popular forms.

The first arcade video games were introduced in the 1970s after which new technology paved the way for people to start playing games at home and ultimately online. Even with the dawn of the 21st century, the people’s interest in video games has not waned. Now, thanks to the internet, video games are not limited to a physical space but have now gone mobile. Over the years, online gaming has become one of the biggest industries in the world and has also introduced a wider social aspect to gaming.

The impact of social media on the world is hard to ignore with many people using this tool to help grow their businesses. According to a KPMG report, more than 70 percent of organizations in the world are active on social media. The lightning speed at which information is communicated is one of the key aspects of social media.

From simple pixels to HD, video games have evolved tremendously over the years and have garnered the interest of many. In 2020, it was estimated that there were over 2.7 billion gamers in the world. With the widespread availability and dependency on the internet, many have found it easier to get involved in games played online. Many gamers use social sites like YouTube to stream popular games which are then watched by millions. In fact, the channel with the highest number of subscribers on YouTube belongs to

PewDiePie. He started his channel by streaming himself playing various kinds of video games. The online gaming community continues to thrive with the help of social platforms like Twitch and Discord.

While social media has played a big role in the rise of online gaming, the reverse is also true. Due to growing interest in games, many popular sites like YouTube and Facebook have upgraded their platforms to cater to gamers which has resulted in the creation of more gaming channels and pages. This has drawn in more people to these sites. With the online gaming and social media landscapes constantly changing, the future could very well see the two blending together to form a new type of social interaction through gaming.