The pandemic has caused us to spend countless hours away from friends and indoors. Kids and adults alike have turned to video games to pass the time, from Animal Crossing to Minecraft, and many more. While some might be concerned about the number of hours kids spend playing video games, we can also look at the bright side of video games.
During a recent Kids for Kids LIVE session, we were able to speak with two professionals in the gaming industry: Jonas Keating (Mojang Studios), and Lucien Parsons (Amazon Web Services). With Jonas and Lucien, we discussed our favorite games we've played throughout the pandemic, why we like playing video games, and how we have personally learned from video games.
After the session, we had the following takeaways:
Video games have been one of the only ways for kids to socialize with friends during COVID-19.
They can help kids build cognitive skills such as problem-solving, visual-spatial, and communications through games like Minecraft Education Edition.
They can help us discover new places, ideas, and people.
Most importantly, games can be used to address social issues. Games for Change has some great examples, including these awardees that were announced last week.