Whatever your interest or age, gaming’s got it covered

In 2019, NBC News carried an intriguing story that dispelled the commonplace assumption that online gaming was more or less entirely confined to teens and young adults. While the youthful remain an important demographic for this industry, few had imagined just how many senior citizens today regularly fire up their gaming consoles to play favorite video games.

It seems that growing numbers of people over 50 (many of them above retirement age, too) are following suit. Especially for the more senior(some of whom are hampered by mobility problems that present obstacles to more conventional forms of socializing), gaming offers a means of remaining socially connected and cognitively sharp. Touchingly, the 88-year-old lady featured in the NBC story regularly links her handheld gaming system to her grandson’s so that both can play together even though separated by a huge geographical distance.

Stories like this convey a newly-discovered, stereotype-busting dimension to gaming: no, it’s not confined to feverishly engrossed adolescents battling in digital combat while surrounded by empty pizza boxes and soda cans. It’s an extra ordinarily diverse hobby that holds universal appeal to all.

While there are spectacular titles in the dark action and epic fantasy spaces, replete with bone-crunching hand-to-hand combat, high-octane explosions, fantasy worlds peopled by dwarves, demons or space aliens, and so on, there are also plenty of less spectacular – but immensely popular – genres.

Those who once enjoyed the occasional visit to a casino, for instance, can today enjoy a far more convenient alternative. No one today needs to physically travel to, say, New Jersey for a place at the poker table, for example. They can brush up on casino etiquette with a little internet research and go to a state-of the-art NJ online casino instead – all while in their own living rooms, comfortably settled upon their favorite armchair.

Online resources like Resorts Casino, for example, draw upon literally decades of experience in the brick-and-mortar casino business to produce an outstanding online alternative. Loaded with top casino games (poker, baccarat, blackjack, slots, roulette, etc), sites like this mean no one has to venture from their homes to take up a place at alive casino game – and they’ll get to top-tier, 24/7 customer service, too.

The sheer multiplicity of titles, genres and degrees of complexity make gaming almost infinitely versatile, appealing to the very young and the senior ages, to males and females, and to any ethnicity – there’s literally something for everyone out there.

While some may balk at youngsters getting engrossed in high-octane driving games or first-person shooter adventures, for example, there’s a hidden bonus: they serve to improve hand-eye co-ordination and quick-thinking problem-solving. The evidence in support of the panic of several decades ago that “violent” movies and games encourage violent behavior in the young and impressionable is, in reality, exceedingly weak and unconvincing.

And as for the oft-reported concern about diminishing attention spans amongst the young, gaming proves that it’s not always true: teens can be transfixed for hours when engrossed in a beloved game – finding successful strategies, devising escapes, progressing to more advanced and cognitively demanding levels, and so on.

The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how young or old you are, or where you come from, or what your niche interests are: gaming has got it covered.