Many of the friends and loved ones that were unable to leave their homes for fear of infection, or who had lost their friends and family in the pandemic, have found solace in online games. Their social circles are limited by physical proximity, but they can still be social beings as long as they stay logged into their favorite online game. You might think this is just a temporary comfort measure until people can get out into the world again, but you would be wrong. The people I talked to say that they don’t want to leave behind all those relationships they’ve forged with other players while playing these games; many of them find it more comforting than talking with other survivors who never played these games before.
