Since the beginning of the pandemic, people have been constantly searching for ways to pass the time and distract themselves from reality. For me, and by extension most young people struggling with their mental health, COVID-19 has consisted of compulsive symptom-checks online, unstable sleep schedules, and horrific news updates. Depressive episodes and anxiety attacks that stemmed from the crushing isolation of life lived through Zoom became commonplace.
But who could blame me? For the last 18 months, young people in the United States dealt with the effects of an unprecedented deadly pandemic. In-person social, academic, and professional life grinded to a halt, and students witnessed levels of civil unrest not seen since the mid-1960s. Being bombarded with images of clashing political protests, anti-mask rallies, a rollercoaster of a presidential election, and surging COVID-19 cases would drive anyone to a breakdown.
A CDC study of more than 5,000 participants found that during the pandemic, 31 percent of adults aged 18 and above reported struggles with anxiety and depression, and 11 percent reported having “seriously considered suicide.”
As a young person with anxiety, my typical coping strategies for life were no longer useful once quarantine began. Typically, if I felt lonely or anxious, doing homework in a crowded coffee shop or seeing friends helped. Working, going to the gym, buying self-care gifts; by March 2020, those strategies disappeared.
As the isolation worsened and my mental health spiraled downward, my roommate provided a distraction when she brought home her new Nintendo Switch in mid-April last year, complete with the Animal Crossing: New Horizons video game. She let me play on her account until I got my own Switch, and it helped me escape from the persistent stress and anxiety I experienced on a daily basis.
Nintendo released New Horizons in March 2020, and the only objective is to develop an island. Gamers can change landscapes, buy virtual items, and earn money for relaxing activities like fishing, catching bugs, and gardening. Gamers can also visit their friends’ islands and interact online. Users completely design the flow of their game, and the low-stakes game play can be relaxing.
Mental health professionals deemed the game a helpful anxiety tool during these stressful months, and an Oxford study involving 3,000 gamers found a positive association between game play and mental health and well being. Additionally, online circles of individual Animal Crossing users repeatedly praised the relaxing game play and informally self-reported positive effects on their mental health.
Since I started playing on my roommate’s account, and after I acquired my own New Horizons game, I anecdotally agree it helped me cope during quarantine. Instead of going out to a coffee shop, I called my boyfriend and visited his island. Instead of online shopping with unemployment funds, I used bells to buy various wallpapers. Instead of watching the news, I gardened colorful virtual flowers.
The game provides a peaceful, virtual space to enjoy myself before tackling another day of pandemic life. It is my fun and harmless vice to cope with anxiety in the midst of a pandemic, and other young people could benefit from this and similar games as well. Video games can serve as a temporary strategy until we can collectively return to normal.
Of course, video games may not work for everyone. The same Oxford study stressed that individuals who used the games to fill some unsatisfied psychological need in reality might experience negative effects from gaming. In short, nobody should vicariously live through Animal Crossing, and compulsively playing any video game can result in adverse effects on mental health.
However, when used as a peaceful virtual space to mentally reset and safely connect with friends, video games can be an alternative to endless scrolling on social media, impulse shopping, or risking physical health by breaking quarantine.
In short, video games are not a cure and Animal Crossing did not ‘cure’ my anxiety; I still experience anxiety attacks and depressive episodes, but having a virtual escape during the shelter-in-place helps me deal with them. The game is relaxing, and playing this and other video games could potentially help countless other young people temporarily escape the overwhelming barrage of upsetting and unpredictable current events.
The world is difficult right now. Our political system remains uncertain, our social environment is unstable, our physical environment is fraught with sickness. With the soon-to-be released update for Animal Crossing, people can once again healthily escape our anxious society. If digging up virtual fossils or buying virtual wallpapers helps young people cope, then that strategy is completely valid. Video games can provide peace of mind in an increasingly chaotic world, and for young people right now, peace of mind is essential.
