'Gogglebox' star Reverend Kate Bottley has praised video games for the positive effects they can have on kids.
The 41-year-old TV pundit's son Arthur suffers from an autism spectrum disorder and struggled in social situations but getting into online gaming has helped him make friends and develop his social skills.
Speaking to The Guardian at the GameCity festival, held in Nottingham, she shared: "Online gaming really helps him, and he's got a little community that he plays with. These are his friends. These are his community. These are the people that he learns how to socialise with."
Kate insists events like the GameCity festival have also helped her son connect with people in real life too.
She said: "We can let Arthur go here, and he can talk to anyone. And they won't make him feel stupid, and they won't make him feel silly, and they will listen to him ... He's quite used to being the weirdest kid in the class. He's not the weirdest kid here."
And it's just finding that mutual connection that Kate believes helps anyone bond with another person.
She added: "I think what human beings want, regardless of whether we express an actual named faith or whether we profess to be atheist or whatever, is connection. What gaming provides for us is a platform to provide that connection with ourselves. It's not just about wasting an hour. It's actually about developing ourselves, and our relationships with others, and our relationships with the universe as a whole."