Video games serve as safe haven for

Video games serve as safe haven for students

Cambell Kirk

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the world is filled with anxiety.

How do we stay safe? How long will the pandemic continue?

Amongst the chaos, a silent but very real problem has infected millions of teens: loneliness.

Students struggle to maintain close contact with their friends because of quarantine orders, distance learning, and concerns for their family members’ health. Luckily, many were able to find that video games were a remedy to the loneliness that crept into their lives. Video games were already growing in popularity before the pandemic, but now they’ve reached a record level of success. According to The NPD Group, a market research firm, gaming sales in the US increased by 37% in August.

Call of Duty: Warzone, a first-person shooter game, has skyrocketed in popularity. According to PC Games magazine, the game had 75 million active players in August, and that number climbed another 30 million come late March when the pandemic hit the world full-force.

Other games such as NBA 2K20 saw an 82% increase in active players during the period, while FIFA added over 7 million new players.

By far, the most successful new game was Nintendo’s social simulation game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which quickly became immensely popular around the world after it’s debut in March.

The game captivates players as they’re transported to a world of fantasy. Players work to build a town while filling the role of various adorable animal characters. The goal is to gather and craft items, harvest food, and develop a village into a harmonious community. It plays the perfect role of providing comfort and social connection to its users in a time of isolation and struggle.

The premotor and parietal cortex are activated during action games. These regions control sensory movement

“It’s all about social interaction. You build your own gardens with other people. You play in teams overcoming other teams; it’s really checking a lot of those social needs in a time of isolation,” said Isabela Granic, professor of developmental psychopathology at Radboud University.

There are two main psychological explanations behind the game’s explosive success. First, it offers people an alternate reality to escape to during a time of struggle. It is instinct to want to distract yourself from life’s difficulties, and Animal Crossing lets users chase a peaceful and harmonious new life. Additionally, it satisfies human nature; people need social interaction to be happy.

For Mark Castro, downloading Animal Crossing was out of curiosity.

“I started playing because all my

Playing video games can improve cognitive abilities, such as mental rotation and attention

During game play, dopamine is released in the brain. This chemical is associated with positive feelings and satisfaction

Art by Cambell Kirk