Urgent optimism for planetary health: lessons from the video game industry
Authors: Fatimah Ahamad, Jemilah Mahmood, Oliver Lacey-Hall, Menaka Ganeson, Hannah Zuhairah Ariff, Tai-Jie Lim
Journal: The Lancet Planetary Health (2024)

According to WHO, 6·7 million premature deaths annually are associated with air pollution1WHOAmbient (outdoor) air pollution.https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-healthDate: 2022Date accessed: July 18, 2023Google Scholar and the recently published work on safe and just Earth system boundaries has highlighted how far we are from being within the so called safe and just zone.2Rockström J Gupta J Qin D et al.Safe and just Earth system boundaries.Nature. 2023; 619: 102-111Crossref PubMed Scopus (207) Google Scholar There is little urgency despite the alarming evidence and the impact of more frequent floods and uncontrollable wildfires. Unfortunately, these experiences combined with the narrative of an impending climate catastrophe has led to climate anxiety for many people.3Dodds J The psychology of climate anxiety.BJPsych Bull. 2021; 45: 222-226Crossref PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar One way to tackle this is with a more optimistic narrative focuses on taking action. The video game industry can play an important role with its massive reach across a diverse demographic profile. There are 3·24 billion gamers globally as of 2023 with an average age of 35 years, as those who grew up playing games continue to play into adulthood.4Jovanovic B Gamer demographics: facts and stats about the most popular hobby in the world.https://dataprot.net/statistics/gamer-demographics/Date: 2023Date accessed: February 17, 2023Google Scholar Globally, the gaming community is also gender balanced.4Jovanovic B Gamer demographics: facts and stats about the most popular hobby in the world.https://dataprot.net/statistics/gamer-demographics/Date: 2023Date accessed: February 17, 2023Google Scholar Community outreach is not the only strong point of the video game industry, although such a wide pool will mean initiatives, such as the Playing for the Planet alliance launched in 2019 at the UN Climate Action Summit, will have available adoptees ready to be involved once climate-centric games are launched.5UN Environment ProgrammePlaying for the planet.https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/education-environment/what-we-do/playing-planetDate: 2019Date accessed: July 18, 2023Google Scholar More than a decade ago, Jane McGonigal highlighted the concept of urgent optimism in her TED talk and Wall Street Journal article.6McGonigal J Gaming can make a better world.https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_worldDate: 2010Date accessed: February 17, 2023Google Scholar, 7McGonigal J Be a gamer, save the world.https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704590704576092460302990884Date: 2011Date accessed: February 17, 2023Google Scholar So far, the planetary health community has not embraced this idea. The concept highlights the key characteristics of gamers: when playing, they have an optimistic view that they can solve any problem and will immediately act, whereas the opposite is true in real life where people get overwhelmed and anxious. Gamers are good at collaborating with other gamers, which is a trait often scarce in real life despite broad acknowledgment that we cannot work alone to address the global impacts of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.8Pattberg P Bäckstrand K Enhancing the achievement of the SDGs: lessons learned at the half-way point of the 2030 Agenda.Int Environ Agreements. 2023; 23: 107-114Crossref Scopus (5) Google Scholar Urgent optimism includes the concepts of blissful productivity and epic meaning. We tend to be happy to work hard to achieve meaningful outcomes, especially when we feel we are involved in an inspiring large-scale mission. However, the narrative on climate change is typically centred on a portrayal of how bad things are, as it will understandably be too late to mitigate and adapt if we are blissfully unaware. Although reframing messages is important for appealing to climate sceptics, there also needs to be a shift in the way climate-conscious individuals perceive action.9Hornsey MJ Fielding KS Understanding (and reducing) inaction on climate change.SIPR. 2020; 14: 03-35Google Scholar Many accept that humans cause climate change but are unwilling to invest and sacrifice to respond to it.9Hornsey MJ Fielding KS Understanding (and reducing) inaction on climate change.SIPR. 2020; 14: 03-35Google Scholar Being climate conscious should feel meaningful and fill us with the optimism of being part of an epic collective journey to save the world instead of perceiving it as forfeiting comfort. A focus on improved livelihoods, regeneration of a sense of community to challenge our use and misuse of energy, how we consume food, and the allocation of resources for mitigation and adaptation can trigger our innate attraction to optimism. This focus could inspire common engagement and action.10McAfee D Doubleday ZA Geiger N Connell SD Everyone loves a success story: optimism inspires conservation engagement.Bioscience. 2019; 69: 274-281Crossref Scopus (84) Google Scholar Playing video games does not directly solve real-life problems but gamers learn to collaborate and act on decisions; skills that are necessary if we are to shift from highlighting problems to taking action. We need more games where people are led through virtual climate scenarios that might give them the confidence to act in the real world. Changing habits is difficult; there will be challenges when transitioning from video games; used for mental escape to using lessons from those games to start taking action in real life while keeping a sense of inspiring adventure. An optimistic narrative is what we need in a world where the younger generation is experiencing both the physical and mental impact of a changing climate. Video games might be a refreshing way to achieve urgent optimism but ideas without action will not grant us victory in this epic adventure to save the planet. All authors declare no competing interests.