'GrandpaGaming': Discover the 71-year-old Navy veteran who spends four hours streaming daily.

"GrndpaGaming" is known to millions on TikTok and hundreds of thousands on YouTube and Instagram, but to his friends and family, he's simply Will.

"Gramps," affectionately known as such, is a 71-year-old Navy veteran who has been gaming since 1976. He is one of more than 52 million gamers aged 50 and above, according to an AARP survey released last year. The survey revealed that the number of senior gamers has increased by 30% since 2016.

In his youth, Gramps was an avid gamer, playing the B-1 Bomber on the Apple 1 computer before it became popular among the 50+ age group.

The individual stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the game was on a three-inch cassette and it was a text-based game with no graphics. It was all text-based and enjoyable when it was first released.

Since his retirement from the military in 1992, Gramps has held various jobs but has faced several health issues in recent years.

He experienced an accident at work, resulting in a ruptured neck, and was later diagnosed with prostate cancer, heart attacks, and a double pulmonary embolism.

Gramps said, "The doctor said I should never have woken up from that. Someone upstairs told me I have something else planned for me. And I think this is it," referring to his streaming success.

Gramps began streaming in 2015 and recalled getting "conned into it."

I was playing ArcheAge when a guy saw me and asked about the system I was using. I told him I built it myself, and he suggested I start streaming. I was hesitant, but he explained it to me using Twitch. The next night, we set it up in an hour and a half, and I never looked back.

Gramps spends four hours streaming daily and his longest stream lasted for 38 hours and four minutes. Currently, his favorite games are "Battlefield 2042," "Fortnite Zero Build," and "theHunter: Call of the Wild."

Gramps' joy is evident in videos of him defeating other gamers: "See ya! Wouldn't want to b-b-b-be ya!" he exclaims.

The Vietnam vet shared with Planet Chronicle Digital that he uses streaming as a coping mechanism to alleviate the pain he experiences. He prefers not to take medication for his neck because it causes him to feel "foggy."

"I also enjoy streaming to connect with the older generation. Don't worry, there's nothing to fear. Just get out there and socialize to keep your mind sharp. Keep your motor functions sharp too," he said. "That's what gaming is all about for me - making new friends."

Gaming can stimulate the mind and improve reaction time, according to Dr. Laura Mosqueda, a family and geriatric medicine specialist at Keck Medicine of USC.

As we age, staying mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally engaged and connected is crucial for a better aging process and a better old age, she emphasized.

While gaming can increase sedentary behavior as people age, it can also improve mental engagement and social connectedness in moderation.

"Having a close emotional connection with someone is crucial, unlike what you can experience in a video game," she stated.

Gramps' favorite memory since he began streaming has been his viewers. He proudly displayed a plaque he received from YouTube, which read, "Presented to GrndpaGaming for surpassing 100,000 subscribers."

"From now on, I have the freedom to explore any direction."