- The depression is considered the most worrisome silent pandemic of the 21st century.
- The WHO estimates that by 2030 this mental disorder will be the leading cause of disability worldwide.
- A proposal inspired by the popularity of the multiverse of superheroes seeks not only to entertain but also to reduce the incidence of mental illnesses such as childhood depression.
Mental disorders are one of the fastest growing health problems in recent years. Although everyone is exposed, young people are at greater risk due to the bullying that prevails in schools. This led a group of entrepreneurs to develop an original way to combat the childhood depression.
In this case, video games are one of the favorite entertainment media for children and adolescents. But beyond working as an escape route, they also offer benefits for users such as encourage psychomotor development and mental dexterity.
With this in mind, Yessika Andrea Orea Yáñezwho is an eighth-semester Biosciences student at the Tecnológico de Monterrey campus in Mexico City, together with students from the Catholic University of Chile and the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, participated in the creation of “Multiverse Mission”. It is a video game that seeks to develop emotional intelligence in children from eight to ten years old.
How does it work?
Based on the popularity of the superhero multiverse, the narrative of this title focuses on the fact that the main characters (avatars created by users) must get all the fragments of the emotional intelligence gem. To do this, they will have the task of entering different worlds and testing their socio-emotional skills based on their age.
“The objective of this proposal is to reduce the incidence of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and academic stress, through better management of emotions, using other types of pedagogical resources,” added the young woman.
The proposal has already obtained recognition
This initiative earned them the first place in the Global Summit of Leadership and Social Engagementheld in Chile during October 2022, recognizing Yessika, Javiera Natalia Novoa Nieme, Diego Urzúa Escoba, Patricia Silva Bello and Julián Camilo Álvarez.
Said contest was focused on creating projects that would solve problems related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as health and well-being. In addition, a jury evaluated the innovation, impact, interdisciplinarity, creativity and future applications of this development in vulnerable groups.
“My contributions to this project are highly influenced by the work I do within the Violines for Peace AC Foundation, a non-profit association that is in charge of promoting talent in children who attend primary school with little access to education. In fact, this video game is intended as a benefit for all the students that, through our classes, workshops and mentoring, we have been able to accompany”.
According to the Tecnológico de Monterrey student, they are still looking for financing to continue developing “Multiverse Mission”. He added that they are clear that it will be an online game that will not require any type of equipment or console, in order to eliminate all possible barriers that limit its access to the population.
Finally, he commented that this year they will participate in the Under the Starry Sky contest, organized by the World Federation of United Nations Associationsbased in Norway for the grand final, during September 2023. This is an opportunity where they will seek to give greater visibility to their pedagogical proposal to combat the childhood depression.
Also read:
Depression, the most alarming silent pandemic of the 21st century
Depression: symptoms, population at risk and diagnosis
SSa publishes the first manual for the correct use of video games: You can download it here