Gaming creates close connections

Lilien Schirazi & Sofia Sclafani Features Editors

“Strangerdanger” is a phrase commonly taught to children in order to warn them about situations that could compromise their safety.

While many people find it difficult to strike up conversations, much less friendships, with complete strangers, video games provide a forum in which relationships are forged with relative ease.

It is now easier than ever for players to socialize and meet strangers, some of whom later will evolve into close friends.

With a variety of games, ranging from “Minecraft” to “Call of Duty,” and ways to communicate on them, such as voice chat or Discord, gamers are able to play with friends or get paired up with strangers.

Junior Tudor Cupcea has experienced first hand the opportunity for relationships to be formed in multiplayer games.

“Multiplayer online games are really easy to make friends on because in every game, you can find a new person and make connections from there,” Cupcea said. “Sometimes you will meet someone once and never see them again, while other times, you can maintain a connection.”

This idea of playing with someone you don’t know isn’t usually seen as a problem for gamers, but the idea of not knowing who you are talking to could initially be alarming.

“I have had both positive and negative experiences with friends on gaming because people can be unpredictable behind microphones,” Cupcea said.

However, in online environments, if one chooses to chat with random players, their location is almost always unidentifiable.

Knowing that someone has similar interests is very beneficial in creating new connections.

“It isn’t really hard to really make friends, but it can be hard to maintain a friendship online, as time zones are different depending on where you live,” Cupcea said.

Gaming can be used not just in maintaining old friendships, but also in creating new ones.

“I have made lots of friends on ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and ‘Fortnite’ as those are games with audiences around my age,” freshman Zach Griesenauer said.

Spending time online with close friends can make gaming more enjoyable, especially since players generally spend hours on end playing, talking to, and interacting with their friends.

“If you’re playing alone, it is more of a mundane experience, but with online games, you can have a much better time,” Cupcea said.

Gaming with friends, old or new, can be more engaging and memorable than with strangers or by yourself.

“From what I’ve experienced, gaming alone puts me in a bad mood, while gaming with friends creates a different tone to the game that not many things can beat,” junior Sean O’Dowd said.

Freshman Abby Garber also feels that gaming alone is not as enjoyable as it is with friends. While gaming alone, you are playing against a computer and not an actual human being, which can make the game more difficult and less fun.

“I think gaming by yourself can be really calming and just what you do when you’re home alone,” Garber said. “But gaming alone is you playing against AI which is not as fun. Playing with friends is really fun because you get to compete and socialize.”

O’Dowd feels that online gaming makes it easier to keep in touch with people that live further away.

“I think if you were to have a longdistance friendship that was once a close one, gaming is the best way to keep that friendship through the interactions it allows,” O’Dowd said.

Although Griesenaur has made friends through gaming, he believes that it can actually be more difficult to make them over an online platform than in person.

“Some say making friends online is easier than in person, but I think it’s harder,” Griesenauer said. “I like talking to people in person.”

Griesenauer also shares that playing with strangers comes with the risk of negative encounters.

However, there are still respectful players that you can have positive experiences with.

Sometimes, players may come across other players who ruin the experience with their behavior, but there are also players that are fun to socialize with and bring a positive energy into the game.

“There are a lot of nice people online, but there are also a lot of mean people who don’t always use the best language,” Griesenauer said.

However, O’Dowd feels that when playing “Call of Duty,” making friends can be almost instantaneous.

“Most guys on there joke around and don’t care too much about winning and losing, so it just creates good memories and new friends,” O’Dowd said.

New friends can eventually turn into life-long friendships. O’Dowd was able to meet his best friend through an online gaming platform.

“Gaming has had a tremendous positive impact on my life from the people I’ve met, the friends I’ve made, and the bonds I’ve formed,” O’Dowd said. “If it wasn’t for gaming, I wouldn’t have my best friend, so I am very much appreciative.”