Do video games bring you joy? They are more than mere fun for many because they are challenging, they can leave one with a sense of accomplishment, and they can be one’s life’s work. But I suspect video games bring us even more joy: they help us to love one another.
Video games, contrary to some stereotypes, can have a strong social aspect. This social aspect is not guaranteed, of course, but one can find many instances of it. Many of us play video games with friends while lounging on a coach. Some of us co-operate with or compete against friends in online games, and sometimes we talk about games to each other. This social aspect of video games should be obvious.
This social aspect does not necessarily occur to earn money. I can invite a friend to sit on my couch, play a game and not charge admission. We probably do not loan games to friends to get rich fast, and sometimes we battle against strangers online to emerge victorious, not to drown in money. We can think of many reasons why we play video games with others and enjoy their company while we play. We might feel lonely, we might want to catch up with friends, and we might want to share something incredible that we have. This desire to share something we have that others do not — without the promise of financial reward — is what interests me.
I encourage all of you to share your video games with others, especially the less fortunate. Share because you love your fellow human beings, not because you might gain some recognition. Do you have anything to share? Many of us are fortunate enough to collect games we hope to play some day. However, we should not hoard games if we are reasonably certain we will not have time to play them. Instead, we could bring a smile to the face of a person who does not have anything to play. Better yet, we could play the game with them and share the gift of ourselves with the other person.
Of course, video games are not necessary to love one another, and these objects should never consumer our relationships. Yet, video games could be a great way to show your love, to care about others and to spend time with them. Take the time to share your video games.
Do you have any stories of times you shared video games and what happened? Inspire your fellow readers.
Video Games Nebula 
I wouldn’t be blogging without video games! Does that count as sharing? 🙂
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Yes, I suppose it does count. In fact, I mostly share by blogging my thoughts and stories about video games as well. That’s because I usually play single player games and don’t know many gamers.
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I love these social aspects of games too! Gaming as a social activity is fascinating and might be overlooked fairly often because of the many solo gaming experiences.
Reading the parts about sharing with those less fortunate was interesting too. It doesn’t often come onto my radar as a possible problem that needs attention. As a coincidence, I’ve got underprivileged gamers on my brain this month, between your post and a charity event that The Well-Red Mage and Later Levels keep tweeting out trying to help underprivileged gamers. Very cool.
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There’s so much to share with those who are less fortunate. Video games are a great start :).
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