Stop for a moment and think about everything you like to do outside your working hours: passions, hobbies, interests old and new, sports activities. You can bet that at least one of these hobbies is recent, and that you most likely got to know it thoroughly during the long months of lockdown due to the global pandemic. During those dreary months a year or two ago, each of us was forced to find practical ways not to be overwhelmed by anxiety, depression, or even simply not to let anger prevail over any other feeling.
Having been deprived of the possibility of leaving the house, not even to have a drink with their friends in some club, people had to ingeniously find a way out, any activity that would allow them to escape, even for a few hours, from a reality they did not have the strength to accept, for no reason at all. No wonder then that the passions that developed during the lockdown have become immensely dear to us, so much so that they have become the main pastimes we indulge in when we are not at work, with family or friends. It is a kind of silent gratitude that each one of us has decided to pay to a hobby – old or new – that has been of great help to us during one of the most difficult historical junctures since the post-war period, and which for many individuals (especially the younger ones) has been an incredibly traumatic period also from a psychological point of view. It is not surprising either that the new hobbies, i.e. those that first became known during the lockdown, like the shows on Netflix, have ousted some of the old ones, which have thus faded into the background mainly because they did not play a decisive role in such a complicated historical period.
A question of gratitude
These passions, which we indulged in for long days, hour after hour, have become a fundamental part of ourselves, and in all likelihood will remain with us for a lifetime. They have imprinted themselves on our souls through one of the most burning fires, that of mental suffering resulting from deprivation, from lack of freedom.
The passions we have rediscovered
One of these passions is certainly that of video games: who among us, regardless of age, has not spent part of the lockdown enjoying computer, mobile phone, Xbox or PlayStation games? Very few, we are convinced. The potential of video games is indeed immense, and can help people (especially the most vulnerable, such as the young) to escape from reality for a few hours, immersing themselves in a parallel world in which they can experience powerful emotions. The other great passion that has accompanied us during the darkest months of the health emergency is certainly music: armed with earphones, many of us spent hours and hours without even noticing the passing of time, immersed in the sound and melodic universe of our favorite songs. The fact that so many people decided to go to concerts as soon as the Covid-19 restrictions began to be loosened is a clear attempt to pay homage to one of the pastimes that helped us most during the pandemic, and which we now want to pay homage to through concrete participation in musical events. The immersive effect of these events is extremely powerful, just like that generated by the video games we have come to love over the last two years.
Another extremely exciting pastime, which many people discovered for the first time during the worst months of the pandemic wave, was gambling. Online portals such as Vegas Slots Online, even during the pandemic, continued to enrich their online offerings with a huge amount of casino games and online slots, giving every player the chance to find their favorite game amidst all those offered in the catalogue. Each game is, moreover, carefully selected by a competent team of experts, all professionals in the sector, who have scoured the net in search of the safest and most reliable games to offer the public. It is also for this reason that every single game on the portal is able to satisfy the tastes of even the most demanding players, satisfying them from the very first moment.
Besides awakening our practical intelligences, the pandemic has also had another, much more human and gratifying effect, greatly stimulating our sense of gratitude.
