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Leveling up friendships through online gaming Alexa Elizondo Gil
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BC Esports Association’s Discord server doubled in users during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discord, a messaging platform popular with gamers, is organized into smaller, focused groups called servers and was used throughout the pandemic to foster community. “[The rise in Discord members] came about, I think, because of people’s desire to be connected with others who they go to university with through 16 | LIKE
games, when they can’t otherwise do it,” said Zach McKay, co-president of the UBC Esports Association. McKay’s observation is not unique. Due to the virtual nature of gaming, it became a natural solution for many craving social connection during the pandemic. According to one 2021 Sage article, 71 per cent of respondents reported that their gaming habits increased early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and a majority of gamers reported that playing video games had
a positive impact on their wellbeing. Stock for a variety of games skyrocketed when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare dominating the top of Business Insider’s top 20 best-selling games during the first months of the pandemic. Among Us was the most Google-searched game of 2020 and spread across Twitch, YouTube and other platforms. Research has also revealed the ben-