After a long day of schoolwork, students like senior Mya Leno like to go home and decompress by playing a favorite mobile game. 

“Outside of school or during Powerhour, I play games on my phone all the time. My favorite game is HomeScapes because it’s almost like playing Candy Crush, but you earn stars to complete tasks that allow you to remodel a whole house. So, if you like Candy Crush and playing remodeling games, I definitely suggest Homescapes,” Leno said. 

After tackling school all day, playing games helps students manage their emotions. 

“I play games or use social media probably a couple of times a day when I feel lonely or bored  because they bring me comfort,” Leno said. 

Beyond a fun candy-crushing spree, Leno relaxes by getting on social media. 

“I use TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram, which are my main apps besides mobile games. I use TikTok because it has a whole bunch of videos and is very entertaining, so I love it. TikTok makes me feel less alone. I use Snapchat because that’s how I contact my friends. For Instagram, I watch their reels because they are funny and they are almost like another TikTok app,” Leno said. 

On the opposite end of the school hierarchy, freshman Harmony Rogers loves playing games to spend time with her friends. 

“Outside of school, I play Roblox with my friends. It’s my favorite game because there are so many options within it and you can play it with so many different people,” Rogers said. 

Roger’s history with Roblox goes back to her childhood. 

“I have played Roblox on my mom’s iPad since I was little. It was just the trending game for kids my age, and now I play it ironically,” Rogers said. 

Social media apps like TikTok and Instagram are often the link between finding new fun games to play. 

“I like to play games that pop up in the Tiktok ads on my ‘for you’ page that say play and download, and since they are from a random ad, I don’t really have a favorite,” sophomore Trever Capien said.  

A direct parallel to Leno, Capien also uses social media as a vice. 

“Instead of games, I usually get on TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram to entertain myself at night or when I get bored outside of school now that phones aren’t allowed in school,” Capien said. 

Junior Avianna Lee enjoys playing Roblox with her friends, but recently a fast-pace cooking game has captured her heart. 

“I play Roblox outside of school a lot to spend time with my friends. But my favorite game is Cooking Fever. It is my favorite because I like how fast past it is. One day I saw an ad on another game, and I just downloaded it and played it. It is kind of addicting, so I have just been playing it ever since,”  Lee said. 

Social media keeps her company in her down time. 

“Other than playing games, I use social media like Instagram and Tiktok a lot at night when I’m bored in bed or in the car. I also use Apple Music to entertain myself,” Lee said.