In our ทดลองเล่นฟรี, we asked the participants to report how often they felt connected to people online through their gaming. We found that most teens (51%) feel at least a little connected to the people they play games with. Boys were more likely to report feeling this way than girls. They also reported that this connection tended to be less than they would feel to people in their life, and that it did not lead to greater depression.
However, in our study, many participants did talk to their virtual friends about issues they would not discuss with their real-life friends. This suggests that, at least for some, online gaming provides a safe space to share difficult emotions and thoughts with people they do not know well. We found that these conversations did not always lead to greater depression, but that they can provide a source of emotional support for some individuals.
Making Connections Through Online Gaming
While virtual friendships may have their place in some situations, they are not without risks. These include the lack of physical contact, which is important for many people. Also, it can be easy for someone to misinterpret a friend’s tone in text messages and assume that they are being rude or mean when they may not be. Finally, it is not as easy to end an online relationship as it is in real life — it can be much easier for someone to just block you and move on.