For a lot of us, video games are a way to unwind. The popularity of open world games like Grand Theft Auto and Skyrim make it evident that escapism can have a therapeutic effect on people. Soldiers and other members of service deal with a lot of stress. Especially when stationed over seas in a combat zone. Kotaku ran a feature today about U.S. Army soldier Steven Beynon telling them about his experiences serving in Afghanistan and how video games helped him and his buddies deal with the stress.
Beynon explains, “The power games have to provide escapism is both good and bad. There are extreme cases like children being neglected because their parents couldn’t stop playing WoW, and cases like mine on the positive side of the spectrum. Everyone has problems in their life that need to be forgotten about, but it requires a mature mode of thinking to properly play games while keeping reality in check. Plus, games are pretty rad.”
Read the whole feature on Kotaku.