As people grow older, the people and hobbies they identified with as teenagers may fall by the wayside. Gamers may give up gaming for the sake of a more adult lifestyle, or change the kinds of games they play. The people they once enjoyed hanging out with may be replaced by new co-workers, or not replaced at all but simply left behind. For some aging gamers, isolation and loss of identity can set in, leading to mental health issues on top of the physical health issues common to getting older. As these people become established adults, they might seek to reclaim the lost joy of gaming and the camaraderie of gaming society. With the advent and subsequent mainstream popularity of online streaming of video games, and with the curiosity of newer, younger gamers concerning older games, it’s easier than ever for gamers of previous generations to recapture their old hobby in a new context. The purpose of this review is to examine what existing sociological literature has to say about these issues and what benefits social gaming might have for aging gamers.

SOCIALIZATION THROUGH GAMES
For some time after the introduction of video games to society, they were considered pointless distractions and their enjoyers were looked upon with disdain. What communities they formed were insular and isolated. The last thirty years have seen this situation transform, with ever more people joining the gaming community, creating a wider variety of gaming-related subcultures, and bringing greater diversity to these groups. Today, just about anyone who gets into video gaming can find a community that suits them. Pietersen et al. (2018) interviewed PC gamers in South Africa to study what reasons they had for gaming and what effect online gaming had on their lives.
They found that, while online gaming was not conducive to more intimate bonds, it could still lead to strong friendships and a sense of community (Pietersen et al. 2018). Some players reported feeling a social connection while gaming online only with their real-life friends, while some “instantly feel a sense of belonging upon entering a random community, and they find it easy to become friends with strangers” (Pietersen et al. 2018). Their study stressed the importance of finding a community to belong to in participants’ decision to engage with online games (Pietersen et al. 2018). Clearly, gaming has become about more than distraction and entertainment; it is now a powerful tool for socialization and a sense of belonging.
Their study was limited in scope; it involved only South Africans from a specific school. While it can be argued that the prevalence of online gaming worldwide illustrates some global commonality, it would be useful to perform a broader study involving participants from many countries and backgrounds. The study also focused primarily on young men, and the authors noted that further research could be pursued to examine the feminine perspective or gender equality in online gaming.
For the purpose of this paper, it still draws a useful conclusion: that online gaming provides community even among strangers, leading to an increased dedication to the activity for those seeking such community. For older adults whose busy lives leave little time or inclination for socializing in the real world, the ease of access to online society or reviving/recontextualizing their pre-existing gaming hobby can fill the gap to give them what they crave. The Valiant Gamers community, being composed of mature adults with a history of enjoying all sorts of video games, illustrates this perspective in action.

POTENTIAL MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS
If online gaming can serve as an alternative to real-life socializing, then whether or not that alternative provides the same mental health benefits as well is an obvious question. To that end, Prochnow and Patterson conducted an online survey among adult online gamers in which they assessed the participants’ “social networks, social capital, mental health indicators and covariates” (2024). The study differentiated between in-person and online social networks in order to compare the effects each had on participants’ mental health indicators. While they found that both online and in-person social networks alleviated isolation and provided social support, only the in-person social networks showed evidence of decreased isolation and fewer symptoms of mental health issues such as depression (Prochnow and Patterson 2024).
One potential issue with the study was the predominance of white male gamers in the sample group. As with Pietersen et al.’s study, future research could focus on a more balanced or woman-centric group, or address a possible gender disparity in online gamers. Gaming has historically been dominated by men, but since the turn of the 21^st century women have been an increasingly large part of the community. Another avenue of future research and one touched on by Prochnow and Patterson, could compare the social and mental health benefits of online gaming between different kinds of games, even games within the same broad genre, as they can have very different communities and social conventions (2024).
Despite lacking the fine detail or broad spectrum of the aforementioned concerns, this study serves to highlight the limitations of an online gaming fan-group such as Valiant Gamers. They may have a good sense of community and forge bonds of friendship online, but it can only complement - not fully replace - the benefits of in-person closeness. A community like Valiant Gamers also provides an opportunity to learn what in-person social networks and support systems each member has to fulfill their mental health needs beyond their online lives.

AGING GRACEFULLY
Home console gaming had a bit of a false start with the introduction of Atari consoles, but the 1980’s saw the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which began an era of gaming that has continued to this day. Those who were children during the beginning of that time are now middle-aged, and many remain gamers at heart. Whether they play newer games or stick with the ones from their glory days, these gamers have at least one thing in common: they’re getting older, and this brings new concerns to the table. Everyone ages and everyone handles the consequences of getting older differently, to varying effect. One study aimed to examine the effects of gaming on the elderly, and their results have implications that middle-aged gamers should examine for their own benefit.
A joint study by North Carolina State University’s Department of Psychology and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Interactive Meda & Technology Center tested 140 people between ages 63 and 92 to determine the impact of gaming on their affect, well-being, social functioning, and depression. The group was divided into three subgroups consisting of non-gamers, occasional gamers, and regular gamers. The occasional and regular gamer groups showed greater well-being, slightly higher positive affect, lower negative affect, lower depression, and better social function, in addition to reporting better health (Allaire et al. 2013). The study also showed no evidence of age differences between the demographics of regular, occasional, and non-gamers (Allaire et al. 2013). While they found no difference in education as well, they did note that women were “more likely to play games regularly or not play games than they were to play games occasionally” (Allaire et al. 2013). Their conclusion was that yes, even the elderly play video games, and those who do – even if only occasionally – see benefits in terms of aging gracefully.
It is worth noting that the games used in the study were simple digital versions of card games, and the authors noted the possibility of a more profound impact from playing more immersive games. Also of note is that these games were not online, so the social component of online gaming was not assessed for benefits in successful aging. Their findings concerning the prevalence of female gamers in their study group reinforces the idea that female gamers are a demographic that should not be under-represented when looking at the effects of gaming on broader populations.
While the Valiant Gamers fan group consists mostly of Millennials rather than this study’s more elderly participants, they’re already at an age when it’s natural to be concerned about the effects of aging, especially concerning one’s mental health. It should come as some comfort to them to know that their hobby may help them stay happy and psychologically healthy as they age, even in the absence of online social components. The younger members of the group might also see reason to continue their hobby rather than giving it up for the sake of appearing more mature to outsiders, leading them to better outcomes down the line.

CONCLUSION
If asked why they play video games or participate in online gaming communities, there’d surely be no shortage of people answering that they do it because it’s fun, that it’s just what they like to do, but studies have shown that fun isn’t the only thing they get out of it. These studies show that gaming improves mental health even through the effects of aging, and that online gaming can be an effective avenue of socialization. Far from the hobby of loners and social outcasts, as it was once colored in public perception, video game fandom has become a well-populated and diverse scene, with plenty of socializing, which can even bridge the generation gap as people of all ages share their love for games. Valiant Gamers provides a space for this kind of interaction and enjoyment, making it a fine candidate for further study.



References

Allaire, Jason C., Anne Collins McLaughlin, Amanda Trujillo, Laura A. Whitlock, Landon LaPorte, and Maribeth Gandy. 2013. “Successful Aging through Digital Games: Socioemotional Differences between Older Adult Gamers and Non-Gamers.” Computers in Human Behavior 29(4):1302–6. Retrieved 2024 (https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxyk...47563213000174).

Pietersen, André J., Jan K. Coetzee, Dominika Byczkowska-Owczarek, Florian Elliker and Leane Ackermann. 2018. "Online Gamers, Lived Experiences, and Sense of Belonging: Students at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein." Qualitative Sociology Review 14(4) https://proxyko.uits.iu.edu/login?ur...139622802/se-2.

Prochnow, Tyler and Megan S. Patterson. 2024. “It’s Not Just a Game: Social Networks, Isolation and Mental Health in Online Gamers.” Journal of Public Mental Health 23(2). Retrieved 2024 https://www.emerald.com/insight/cont...-online-gamers).