Are Video Games curing our Depression? Depression is currently a major issue for young people all around the world. Mental illness, as well as anxiety and the inability to socialise with peers is causing problems for school aged children worldwide. These issues are serious, as they are leading the adolescent population to life threatening coping mechanisms, such as drug addiction or in extreme cases, suicide. According to 2014 statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, around 2.8 million youth aged 12-17 experienced at least one major depressive episode in 2014. They also discovered that depression is the most common mental health disorder in the United States within the younger population. With depression making an alarming rise, escapism has become extremely …show more content…
This can be done in many forms, like reading books or watching TV shows. More extreme cases of escapism include alcoholism and drug abuse, which side effects can be lethal. A somewhat recent, but extremely popular form of escapism has become video games. Videos games allow the user to create avatars, or alternate versions of themselves, fictional places, scenarios, friends, achievements and more. With the freedom of creating the perfect reality, more and more youth have turned to video games as a way to escape from their personal reality, a reality stained with depression. When I asked my friends why they played video games, they more or less said the same thing. Mainly, because they’re fun. But also because it’s a way to forget about their issues, and an opportunity to submerge themselves into an idealistic world. “When you’re immersed in games, you forget problems. It’s a distraction. Better than real life.” Says Charlotte, age 15. When asked, Emlyn, age 16 responded that he played games because “I need to relax so I’m not stressed. They are escapism, but escapism isn’t always