Social norms have had a lot of different effects on the mental states of the people around us. Online Gaming has a sense of allowing us to be ourselves and express our true selves; Online gaming is seen as a safe place by a lot of people that face a lot of hardships that involve their personal identity. I greatly can relate to this because as a gay person I have had a lot of hardships in finding people that I am comfortable with and can act myself with. While growing up I would get bullied for acting "feminine", I can remember the panic that would come over me when people were suspicious of my sexuality. Video games allowed me to find different communities in games and find people that could relate to me. Online gaming can have a significant effect on real-life social interactions because I personally gained confidence through the different interactions that I had in a safe environment online. This now correlates with me having confidence when interacting with people face-to-face instead of online.