Students Look to Video Games for Stress Relief

Story posted November 9, 2019 in

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – College life can be tough. With exams, extra-curriculars and everything else constantly coming in, many Penn State students can end up stressed, tired, and burnt out.

Students find a multitude of ways to handle their stress, from playing Ping Pong in Pollock Commons to kicking back at Café 210 and more. One extremely common way Penn State students take a breather is through video games.

Video games have served as a fun recreational activity for everybody from students to professionals and everything in between since making their debut decades ago. Senior Matt Mineo says he turns to video games like "Fortnite" and the newest "Call of Duty" as motivation for getting his work done.

“It provides me an outlet of something I can look forward to that I enjoy. Something like a motivation kind of - something like I’m doing work at the library and I say I’ll give myself a couple more hours, go home, play video games like a goal so it helps me a lot with stress,” Mineo said.

Junior Luke Bernlohr says video games are a helpful way to take a step back and take a breather.

“For me, I have anxiety and that really helps calm me down when I actually do feel anxious," Mineo said. "I think it’s just somewhere to take your mind off places and collect your thoughts and kind of relax."

Whether you’re playing "Candy Crush" or "Call of Duty," video games are one way Penn State students and millions of people around the world enjoy a breather and some necessary stress relief. 

 

 

Brannon Dewolf is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email brdewolf@gmail.com.