Leisure Time Through a Virtual Perspective
Fredericton, NB – The thought of going out downtown or to a party where there are a lot of people is nerve-racking for some youth, especially with the amount of COVID-19 cases that are still hanging around. Instead of putting their health at possible risk, some have decided that satisfying their leisure time in the comfort of their own home would be the better and safer route to avoid catching and spreading the virus.
Cameron Miller is a fourth-year student at St. Thomas University. He says, “During COVID, there’s been forceful isolation and in doing so there hasn’t been much free time in terms of, you know, interacting with people face to face.”
He then proceeded to continue on about how the power of online entertainment was helpful for him and his friends, and how it helped them keep in touch and have fun during these troublesome times, “but through technology, specifically video games, I found it quite easy to still interact with my friends!”
A lot of students and youth have resorted to a variety of online platforms and media forms to satisfy their leisure time since the pandemic hit hard and shut down in-person attendance at schools in early 2020.
One video game in particular seemed to take the world by storm, Minecraft, which is a sandbox adventure video game. It’s increased immensely in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic. It’s become more popular due to the endless possibilities that can be done inside the game; from creating amazing structures and cities in the creative gamemode, to fighting off zombies and skeletons and thriving for survival, and even reaching the end of the game to slay the ‘Enderdragon.’
In fact, Cameron pointed out that his favourite video game he liked to play with his friends was Minecraft, he says, “and in doing so we can still keep in touch on a regular basis and it’s a good way just to catch up.”
Along with its popularity increase, Minecraft is seen being played by hundreds of live streamers on Twitch. These live streamers often participate in a monthly event that brings the Minecraft community together: Minecraft Championship.
This event started in 2019 and was created by ‘Scott Smajor’ and his group of admins. In MCC, 40 streamers based all over the world get placed in ten teams of four. There are a variety of combat, strategy and puzzle games that are chosen at random to be played. Whichever teams are ranked first and second overall after the last game has finished move on to the finale game: ‘Dodgebolt.’ Dodgebolt is a dodgeball-style game where teams have to work together to take out their opponents. The first team to eliminate their opponents three times wins MCC. They also secure a collectible golden ‘MCC coin’ that Scott ships out to the winners.
This event and Minecraft as a whole has brought so many people together through the power of a screen. Many youths are able to connect with one another over these shared interests and enjoy virtual leisure time, all while staying safe in their homes.