Digital innovations have, to some extent, reduced the amount of physical interaction we have with people around us. With more of our daily lives taking place inside the borders of a screen, there’s less reason to go outside and interact with others. However, in some ways, there’s a case to be made that we’re actually more social than at any point before the digital revolution. We may not be as close to a small group of people on a physical basis as we once were, but our social networks are certainly much bigger than they used to be.
Data from the Survey Center on American Life found that 7% of Americans said they had one close friend in 2021 compared to just 4% in 1990. Similarly, in 1990, 33% of people surveyed said they had 10 or more close friends. That figure was 13% in 2021. The organisation also found that 39% of Americans have online-only friends. These statistics aren’t unique to the US. We live in a time where people become less social in the physical world and more social online. Indeed, we can bring in practical examples to support this claim. Social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter are obvious examples as they both have millions of daily users.
Gaming Goes Social
However, if we delve further into the social side of the internet, you’ll see that it’s prominent in almost everywhere. Gaming is a great example. What started with video game players interacting on Twitch has spread to the casino sector. Today, playing games online is almost as social as it would be if you were in a Las Vegas casino. For example, PlayStar Casino Online NJ offers a selection of live dealer games powered by webcam and RFID technology. Games such as Lightning Dice and Infinite Blackjack not only feature human dealers, but they use an open format. By that we mean more than one person can be active in the game at once.
That’s a departure from how online casino games used to be in the early 2000s. Early products were designed to be played in isolation e.g. one person would sit at a virtual table and play. Today, as technology has evolved and the internet has become one giant social network, games have opened up. Further evidence of digital games becoming more social and interactive are casino tournaments. Many of the leading online casinos now run competitions that allow thousands of people to play slots and table games against each other. Moreover, even in situations where tournaments aren’t available, online casinos give users the ability to share results on their social media feeds. This creates a sense of community and, in turn, competition.
People Connect Online and Interact Offline
Thus, what you’ve got here is a situation where online casino gaming has fallen in line with modern trends. The knock-on effect of this is that more people are becoming interested in casino games. One friend tells another, and it has a snowball effect. Thanks to this, attendance figures for land-based casinos around the world are increasing. Gaming America reported in 2022 that Vegas attendance figures were up 34% compared to 2019. In the Netherlands, operator Holland Casino reported a year-on-year revenue increase to £352 million.
Making friends online now seems to be the way forward but, as we can see from the gaming sector, this trend is rekindling the desire to get out and meet people in the physical world. So, while some people may assume the move towards digital relationships is a negative for society, the opposite may actually be true. Casino gaming isn’t reflective of society as a whole, but it certainly shows that there’s value to connecting people online.
