Social Interaction from Gaming

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FusionReactor wrote:

I spent the greater part of my life specializing in behavior management, in the mental health field. One thing I do know is humans crave social interaction. I worked with some very low functioning developmentally disabled folks, for a while, and noticed that when you hold your hand out, not to shake hands, because they don't grasp that concept, they still reach out to touch your hand. This is basic social interaction. We all need it.

However, I've seen a trend, in a lot of games, over the years, of less social interaction and more solo play/solo farming. We sit hours in front of our computers and isolate ourselves into a game that potentially can give you about all the social interaction you need, but we still alienate ourselves from other players, usually. Why is this? Shyness? Anxiety of meeting new people? Anti-social behavior?

This is where guilds come in handy. Guilds potentially provide that much needed social interaction we all so subconsciously are craving in the game(s) we play. I'm sorry, but if a game has sucky social interaction for me, I move on. POE has a decent guild system but it needs some tweaking. It's still a very nice platform from which to provide a pool of social activities for it's members and should promote as much of that social interaction that we so much need, as we deprive ourselves from receiving it in real life, because we're on our asses playing Fluffytheaxekiller.

Something to think about.

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bhavv wrote:

I'm still highly puzzled over how people consider sitting on a computer game, and interacting virtually with others to be social.

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bhavv wrote:

I'm still highly puzzled over how people consider sitting on a computer game, and interacting virtually with others to be social.

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bhavv wrote:

Other people are the worst thing about existence though.

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FusionReactor wrote:

Spoiler

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elitedesolator wrote:

Why do games NEED social interaction? Games have historically been single player, and a lot of players (including myself) see a brief lack of social interaction as a good thing, a balance to a busy life outside of games. A life where we interact with a lot of people.

I "understand" where you are coming from. You are an extrovert. You crave / are addicted to social interactions. You don't understand introverts, so you generalize. If social games are what you want then by all means go for it. Doesn't mean everything should think the same way as you.

Don't come in here assuming everyone needs as much social interaction as you do. Also, don't come in here assuming that those who need it less are somewhat abnormal. And in return we won't label you as a typical extrovert who knows NOTHING about how the other side works.

I understand how things work a whole lot more than you're giving me credit for. And yes, there are a few exceptions, such as yourself. I'm talking to the people who are looking for more social interaction in a game. BTW you are being mean and I believe mean posts are dealt with here. Also, craving social interaction is a basic instinct in many animals, including humans. Some species actually depend on it for survival, including us.