The power of gaming together in a lonely world | Laura Miele

Summary

Podcast Summary: TED Talks Daily Episode: The Power of Gaming Together in a Lonely World | Laura Miele Host/Author: TED Release Date: April 2, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of TED Talks Daily, host Elise Hu delves into the profound impact of gaming on human connection and societal well-being. Featuring Laura Mieli, President of Entertainment and Technology at Electronic Arts (EA), the discussion explores how gaming serves as a vital social platform in an increasingly isolated world.

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Laura Mieli’s Presentation: "The Power of Gaming Together in a Lonely World"

1. Evolution of the Gaming Industry Laura Mieli begins by highlighting the transformative journey of the gaming industry over the past three decades. She emphasizes advancements beyond just graphics fidelity, noting the shift towards games becoming central hubs for social interaction and their integration into mainstream pop culture.

“Games have become social connection hubs and games are now synonymous with pop culture.” [03:46]

She cites the Game Awards as a testament to gaming's growing influence, which attracted over 120 million viewers last year—three times the combined audience of the Grammys, Oscars, and Emmys.

2. Gaming as a Medium for Human Connection Mieli underscores the importance of human connection in an era dominated by artificial intelligence and digital interactions. She asserts that gaming is uniquely positioned to foster deeper human relationships.

“In a world where there's artificial intelligence, artificial interactions, having human connection is going to be more important than ever. And gaming is the perfect medium to connect us.” [05:13]

3. The Role of AI in Gaming Exploring the symbiotic relationship between AI and gaming, Mieli discusses how generative AI is revolutionizing game development and player experiences. From enhancing interactions within games to personalizing gameplay, AI serves as a catalyst for more immersive and individualized experiences.

4. Addressing the Epidemic of Loneliness Mieli presents alarming statistics on loneliness, referencing the Surgeon General's designation of loneliness as an epidemic. She connects this societal issue to the potential of gaming to mitigate feelings of isolation by fostering communities and meaningful interactions.

“Emerging evidence suggests that loneliness is an epidemic. Games bring people together. That's what I love about them.” [07:45]

5. Personal Anecdotes and Industry Insights Sharing personal experiences, Mieli recounts how gaming served as a lifeline during the early years of her twins' lives, providing a means to connect with friends and family.

“I play games to not feel alone. And some of the happiest moments of my life, I was in isolation... we played World of Warcraft for the first several years of our kids' lives.” [09:20]

She also touches on the evolution of online communities, from her time at Westwood Studios managing a million-player community in 1996 to EA's current network of 700 million players.

6. The Concept of the Atomic Network Introducing the idea of the "atomic network," Mieli explains that meaningful connections typically occur within small groups of three to five people. She references a Colorado State University study indicating that while people generally have four to five close friends, their sense of connection has diminished, reinforcing the need for platforms that facilitate genuine interactions.

“The magic comes when you play with three to five other people. There's a really interesting study that Colorado State University did with 6,000 respondents about loneliness.” [10:15]

7. Benefits of Collaborative Gaming Mieli highlights research showing that collaborative gaming not only enhances in-game cooperation but also translates to increased collaboration and cooperation in real-life scenarios.

“People who play games and collaborate in games are actually more collaborative and more cooperative outside of games.” [10:45]

8. The Future of Gaming as a Social Platform Concluding her talk, Mieli envisions gaming as the superior social platform of the future—immersive, active, engaging, and fun. She advocates for intentional use of gaming to maintain and strengthen human connections amidst technological advancements.

“Games are the superior social platform of the future. They're immersive, active, engaging and overwhelmingly fun.” [11:00]

Call to Action Mieli urges listeners to embrace gaming as a means to forge deeper connections, encouraging them to "stop scrolling, pick up your game controller, jump into an epic world, live an amazing story and go on an exciting adventure with three to five of your closest friends."

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Q&A Session with Minouche Zomorodi

Following her presentation, Laura Mieli engages in a brief Q&A with Minouche Zomorodi, host of TED Radio Hour.

Question on Gaming Hardware Innovations Minouche inquires about the future of gaming hardware, particularly the integration of advanced technologies like augmented and virtual reality.

Laura Mieli’s Response: Mieli expresses optimism about the expanding accessibility of gaming technologies. She envisions a future where gaming can occur seamlessly across various devices—from mobile phones to advanced AR/VR headsets—enhancing immersion and connectivity.

“You can game everywhere. There’s already a broad spectrum of accessibility to game and interactive experiences today... you will feel like you are actually in that landscape.” [11:18]

She emphasizes that these technological advancements will further deepen human connections by making virtual interactions more lifelike and engaging.

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Conclusion

Laura Mieli’s insightful presentation on TED Talks Daily elucidates the pivotal role of gaming in combating loneliness and enhancing human connections in the digital age. By leveraging advancements in AI and embracing the communal aspects of gaming, she proposes that the gaming industry can spearhead a movement towards a more connected and interactive society.

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Notable Quotes:

• “Games have become social connection hubs and games are now synonymous with pop culture.” — Laura Mieli [03:46]
• “In a world where there's artificial intelligence, artificial interactions, having human connection is going to be more important than ever. And gaming is the perfect medium to connect us.” — Laura Mieli [05:13]
• “Emerging evidence suggests that loneliness is an epidemic. Games bring people together. That's what I love about them.” — Laura Mieli [07:45]
• “People who play games and collaborate in games are actually more collaborative and more cooperative outside of games.” — Laura Mieli [10:45]
• “Games are the superior social platform of the future. They're immersive, active, engaging and overwhelmingly fun.” — Laura Mieli [11:00]

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This detailed summary encapsulates Laura Mieli’s compelling arguments on the social benefits of gaming, offering listeners a comprehensive overview of the episode’s key themes and insights.

Transcript

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[Elise Hu]

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. If you have kids or teenagers in your life, chances are you know about their favorite video games. Gaming is huge among Gen Z, and it's all about strategy, but also about the community built with other gamers. Laura Mieli, president of entertainment and technology at the video game company Electronic Arts.

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Believes that nurturing human connection and digital.

[Elise Hu]

Spaces is now more important than ever. In her 2024 talk, she shares why this is an exciting moment for humanity and why the video Game industry is perfectly poised to lead the effort towards building deeper connections. And stick around after the talk for a brief Q and A between Laura and the host of TED Radio Hour, Minouche Zomorodi. That's all coming up.

[Laura Mieli]

I am so excited to be here to talk about gaming. There's been so many changes in this industry since I first started at electronic arts almost 30 years ago. Graphics fidelity is one of the most visible revolutions in games, but there have been so many others. Games have become social connection hubs and games are now synonymous with pop culture. Take Star wars as an example. They've completely evolved their narrative universe based on over 10 games. TV adaptations like the Last of Us are winning Emmys for HBO and our own awards show. The Game awards had over 120 million viewers last year. Now, for some context, if you take the Grammys, the Oscars and the Emmys times three, it doesn't add up to how many viewers we had in the Game Awards. That's incredible. Thank you. Yes, good for gaming. This is good news for gaming, but I'm here to tell you I think it's even better news for humanity. In a world where there's artificial intelligence, artificial interactions, having human connection is going to be more important than ever. And gaming is the perfect medium to connect us. AI and games have been synonymous with each other from the beginning. Remember those little ghosts in Pac man, little pixelated opponents in Madden? Those may not seem very intelligent today, but that was our start. And today, AI, particularly generative AI, is going to be an exponential accelerator for making games for how players interact with games and how they personalize and create their own experiences. But AI is not the only thing driving change in the gaming industry and in society in general. Social media has transformed our lives. I mean, think about it. Hundreds of millions of interactions and transactions daily, millions of followers, social platforms. You would think we are more connected than we've ever been, but that's not the case. Being left to our own devices. Well, we have been left to our own devices. There's emerging evidence to say that there's a trend happening that the Surgeon General is calling an epidemic of loneliness. The data says that people are having a hard time making and keeping friends more than ever. I mean, this is scary stuff. We all know that belonging to a community and having a sense of belonging to each other is critical to our mental well being. But don't worry, I'm here to tell you that games are going to save us. Games bring people together. That's what I love about them. They're creative, they're fun. People are creating together, sharing, expressing themselves, collaborating. This is what gaming can do. Games have always been my choice of media. Now I love a great movie and reality TV as much as the next person. But nothing lights up your brain like a great game in interactive entertainment. I mean, even the World Health Organization, after years of skepticism about gaming, has come out to espouse the benefits of gaming. This was a massive turning point in public perception. It also spawned a lot of research around the benefits of gaming, including the power of play in 2023, where they surveyed 13,000 respondents in 12 countries to validate what many of us know that gaming helps with critical skills, critical thinking, judgment, collaboration. But what I found most interesting was that 55% of the respondents said they play games to not feel alone or isolated. And I get it. I play games to not feel alone. And some of the happiest moments of my life, I was in isolation. About 20 years ago, my husband and I welcomed twins. We were so excited and so happy about this, but we were homebound for the first time in our lives. We quickly realized that the best way for social connection with our friends and family and dare I say, even each other, was through gaming. We quickly joined a family guild and we played World of Warcraft for the first several years of our kids lives. Now I love most games and I do, I love to play games. But nothing beats playing together. And people who play games together play for longer. Studies also show that people who play games and collaborate in games are actually more collaborative and more cooperative outside of games. That's pretty remarkable. Now when I first started in the industry, I started a company called Westwood Studios and I was responsible for our online community. And we had, this is back in 1996, we had, wait for it, 1 million players in our community, which was huge back then. It was huge. I thought we were really hot stuff. Fast forward to today. We have 700 million players in the network at EA. That's more than double the population of the U.S. incredible, incredible number. But the magic number isn't actually 700 million. The magic comes when you play with three to five other people. And we call this your atomic network. It's no accident that the atomic number is actually three to five. There's a really interesting study that Colorado State University did with 6,000 respondents about loneliness. And what we know is that people on average for history and now today people on average have about four to five friends always. But today the difference is people feel far less connected than they ever have. And they're longing for connection, to do things together. Now, another dimension of gaming that I love is that you can get to know each other playing games. Your personality and your skills are on full display when you play a game. Now let's face it, most of us are not going to make it as a Navy SEAL in the real world, but that's why games are so much fun. You can role play this, right? So imagine if your squad is dropped into a remote location, you're fighting for survival, you're strategizing on the fly, all while the clock ticks away. Another good use of gaming could be compatibility test. Now, would I have married my husband if he wasn't such an upstanding guild member of World of Warcraft? We'll never know. Now, you may be in an atomic network now or you may be looking for one. There are billions of gamers out there playing games. You can join Fortnite, Minecraft, the Sims fc. The list is long. And sure, you might get chirped in the chat, but you also might meet the love of your life. So many people are ready to play. They're ready to enter epic worlds, epic adventures, meet amazing people. I really believe that games are the superior social platform of the future. They're immersive, active, engaging and overwhelmingly fun. So yes, social media technology, particularly AI, are going to drastically change our future and particularly the relationships that we have with each other. So being intentional and maintaining human connection through games is an amazing path through. So this is a call to arms, stop scrolling, pick up your game controller, jump into an epic world, live an amazing story and go on an exciting adventure with three to five of your closest friends. It could just unite us all. Thank you.

[Minouche Zomorodi]

I have a question, talk to me about the hardware. Where do you see that progressing? I mean, we see people putting things on their heads. Are they going to be put, I don't know, chips, brains, what's going to talk us through what you see?

[Laura Mieli]

Chips and brains, toasters, refrigerators, you can game everywhere. I think that gaming, I mean, there's already a broad spectrum of accessibility to game and interactive experiences today. And that's only going to expand significantly as time goes on. And what I love about gaming is how vast that spectrum actually is. And I think the future will still, you can still pick up your mobile device, play word puzzles with friends, to fast forward, put on to your point, goggles, glasses, you will feel like you are actually in that landscape. And in those worlds it would be super immersive and super connected, which I think is only going to continue to help us feel like we can connect on a human level. So I'm really excited and optimistic about it.

[Minouche Zomorodi]

Wow. Okay. Looking forward to that. Laura Mila, thank you so much. This was great.

[Laura Mieli]

Hugs.

[Elise Hu]

You are listening to Laura Mieli at ted next in 2024. If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tansika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballarezzo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed.

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