Creative play.
It should come as no surprise that children play pretend. It’s one of the ways they discover everything, from how to behave in society to how to determine their dreams. And they do this by inhabiting roles. It is, by definition, roleplaying, as old as humanity itself.
Roleplaying games were new when I was a kid. I’m older than the oldest tabletop roleplaying game, D&D. When I was a kid, people couldn’t wrap their heads around the concept even though roleplaying is, as we just discussed, about the most significant common denominator we have as people. At best, we role-players were belittled. At worst, we were vilified. The ‘80s were the era of the Satanic Panic, after all.
It’s gratifying that times have changed, but some people still don’t get it. And I wonder how to educate them to see that roleplaying games aren’t just fun; they’re beneficial, too. We learn to be people by roleplaying; that experience doesn’t have to stop in childhood. By putting on the histories and personalities of other people, we can decide how we feel about incorporating those traits into our lives.
I’m not saying you should run out to your nearest Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) and join a D&D game, but I encourage you to consider what you do for fun with friends and what benefits can be derived from exploring this pastime with them. You may find it more gratifying than you expect.