MY.GAMES: communication in online games helped a third of Russian gamers to survive the pandemic more easily

The MY.GAMES brand conducted a large-scale study and studied the mental health of users of online games. It turned out that Russian gamers began to feel much better during the pandemic. In part, video games helped them in this — with their help, every third person did not notice the lack of live communication.

In total, more than 21 thousand players from all over the world participated in the study, 7 thousand of them were from Russia. Here’s what they told:

• only 40% of gamers from Russia know well what mental health is. That’s not a lot. Especially if you look at the answers of foreign players. For comparison, in the UK 79% of respondents are familiar with the topic, in the USA — 75%, in Spain — 53%;
• 93% of Russian players believe that it is very important to take care of their psyche. At the same time, only 8% actually go to a psychologist from time to time. They justify this by saying that problems can be dealt with independently or with the help of loved ones;
• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 55% of Russians surveyed said their mental health was normal. Now 83% of gamers claim that they feel good;
• every fifth Russian gamer faces depression or anxiety due to stress every year;

• the lion’s share of the study participants noted that they communicate in online games (83%). Moreover, the pandemic did not significantly affect the number of conversations. Only 28% of gamers began to communicate more actively while playing;
• nevertheless, 41% of Russian players said that virtual conversations helped to cope with the feeling of isolation due to the pandemic;
• users from Russia are more likely to encounter aggression in games (53%). In Germany, 51% of gamers faced cyberbullying, in the USA — 51%, in Spain — 41%, in France — 37%.