The game, as you know, is one of the ways of mastering life. In childhood and adolescence, it is not only justified, but also necessary. It is a completely different matter when the game becomes a form of escape from reality in adulthood. This is a dangerous signal of social inadequacy, says Psychologies columnist Nikolai Kryshchuk.
In early childhood, having read Mine Reed and Walter Scott, we dreamed of exotic countries and travels. It was a form of dreaming about the unusual. At school, many regretted that they did not get into the Civil or Great Patriotic War because of their age. The older brothers at that time were already raving, however, with jazz, then with the Beatles and cherished the dream of America. So in the first third of life, the majority is engaged in shuffling times, geographical places and even nationalities. Reality seems ordinary, devoid of great meanings, real passions, unique adventures.
This infantile daydreaming is gradually pushed aside by everyday worries and medium-term prospects, but does not disappear completely, but hides somewhere in the depths of consciousness. The idea that somewhere life is better, or even just fine, and for the implementation of plans, we only lack what to change circumstances.
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- I am a victim of my own naivete
I will say right away that I do not want to touch on the notorious topic of emigration. In the end, this is a personal choice of a person. Sometimes it ends dramatically, and sometimes tragically, but sometimes it leads to an unprecedented creative and spiritual upsurge. In any case, this is not a dream, but rather a conscious choice.
I’m talking about people whose dream to change circumstances mentally drains and discourages the taste for life. One can reproach them for being passive, and this will apparently be justified. An active person forges his own happiness and changes circumstances. But this is not yet a solution to the problem. First, not every person is able to actively change the surrounding life. Secondly, the root of such lack of initiative lies in something else besides the objective situation.
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- Why do we like to play so much
They say that they have low self-esteem and, as a result, a lack of faith in themselves. It happens so, but sometimes quite differently: a person has an extremely high opinion of himself, but he is sure that the environment does not allow him to fully develop.
But what these people really have, or rather, what they lack, is the power of imagination, which would help to seek and find ways to translate their ideas into things, events and relationships. Their fantasy responds, but not to reality, but to someone else’s fantasy, which, as a rule, has already received artistic design – to music or literature. The place of the beautiful is defined there, there are labyrinths of the mysterious, fields for the manifestation of the heroic are assigned, and most importantly, the poles of good and evil are clearly separated and weapons are handed over to the fighter for justice.
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- Why do they choose to be alone?
Such people, like all hidden autists, are afraid of the unknown, which needs its own exploration and understanding of space. In art, however, space is always limited by genre or geographically and historically. It also satisfies the need for strong emotions, since art, by definition, is the concentrate of life. That is, representatives of this type are effective and emotional in their own way, but only in a fictional reality.
Is it not from this property that numerous youth subcultures were born? Emokids (short for “emotional”) are hardcore music fans. They are charged by the strong voice of the vocalist, as well as by the chaotic elements like screaming, whispering or moaning, woven into the music. Strong emotions are sought by various kinds of extreme sportsmen and bikers, those emotions that they lack in ordinary life.
Particularly noteworthy is the “role players” movement, which includes reenactors, Tolkienists, and many others. Their huge gatherings and festivals are devoted to role-playing games that require not only imagination and energy, but diligence and considerable knowledge.
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- Place of power
Quite recently, another club movement has appeared (I don’t even know if they have their own name). He was provoked by the appearance of the novel by Mariam Petrosyan “The House in which …”. The action of the novel, which is typical, takes place in a closed society, in a disabled orphanage. All heroes have role-playing nicknames, a clear division into usurpers, victims, dreamers and fighters.
The game, as you know, is one of the ways of mastering life. In childhood and adolescence, it is not only justified, but also necessary. The game is a completely different matter – a form of escape from reality. This is a dangerous signal of social inadequacy. It is good if we hear and understand it in time.