Задание №14 — Чтение

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Video games as social spaces

I imagine most parents of gamers have hollered to their children to stop playing games and be with people. Their children seem totally secluded, sitting all alone, and staring blankly at a screen for hours at a time. Children need to talk to each other, to have conversations, to get out into the world. That’s how we make friends, parents assert. I often hear parents say that video games don’t count as healthy communication; their kids aren’t talking about anything real when they play, they’re just talking about the game or yelling at one another.

Two researchers studied exactly this in 2006. They looked at over 5,800 messages sent while playing an online multiplayer game and examined whether these messages were socio-emotional or task-oriented. Socio-emotional messages are ones which help players connect with one another, such as “Thanks for the help,” and “Wow, that was funny.” Task-oriented messages are focused on the game itself, such as “How do you open this door?”

They found that there were more than 3.2 timesas many socio-emotional messages as task-oriented ones. Additionally, these emotion-based messages were over 2.6 times more likely to be positive than negative. That means that, contrary to parents’ fears, the vast majority of the messages people sent while playing were used to interact with others in a positive way. Although the method of communication is different, the messages sent and connections built are the same.

Even if players were to only spend time talking about the game itself, games would still be a great way to bond with other people. Lots of families have weekly “game nights” in which they play board games to spend time with one another. I spent a few hours playing card games with my family last week and, even though most of the conversation was centered on the games themselves, it was undeniably a bonding experience.

Many teens go to each other’s homes to play video games in the same room. Shared experiences like these are so good at helping people connect that some therapists even use tabletop games as group therapy. In fact, research has shown that many people who meet while playing games online do end up spending time with those people.

There is also evidence to suggest that video games can be safe places to experiment with social interactions for vulnerable people, such as the ones with autism spectrum disorders or those with social anxiety. Video games and other online spaces are “safe” for these individuals because they allow people to communicate when they want to, with little or no pressure to respond and without requiring them to be in the same physical space with others.

Successful conversations require a wide variety of skills that many take for granted, such as reading body language, understanding tone of voice, maintaining eye contact, and rapidly responding to information. Online video games can allow players to talk to others and make friends at their current ability level, even when they are not emotionally or physically able to leave their homes. This can help build the skills and confidence necessary to try it in person.

Children and teens are spending more and more time playing video games online with their friends. For most, this is a positive experience, allowing them to communicate with others even when they are unable to physically be with them. This unconventional method of communication is helpful in fostering connections while building the skills and confidence necessary to interact face-to-face. Video games are a large part of the lives of young people and should be recognized as a source of social support.