Video Games Linked To Better Mental Health, New Study Finds
Historically, they have been scrutinized for their potential negative impacts.
In a surprising turn of events, new research suggests that video gaming might actually have positive effects on mental health.
Historically, video games have been scrutinized for their potential negative impacts on mental health, with concerns ranging from addiction to increased aggression. However, a new study conducted in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic offers compelling evidence that moderate gaming could enhance mental health.
âOur findings challenge common stereotypes about gaming being harmful or merely providing temporary euphoria,â assistant professor at Nihon University, Hiroyuki Egami, said in a release. âWeâve shown that gaming can improve mental health and life satisfaction across a broad spectrum of individuals.â
The study, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, analyzed survey responses from nearly 100,000 Japanese individuals between ages 10 and 69, collected between December 2020 and March 2022.
Among these respondents, about 8,200 had participated in console lotteries. Supply chain disruptions caused shortages of gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, leading many retailers to use lotteries to determine who could purchase these sought-after devices.
This scenario provided researchers with a natural experiment to compare the mental health of lottery winners who obtained new consoles to those who did not. The results were significant: lottery winners who obtained a new gaming console exhibited notable improvements in mental health compared to non-winners.
Owning a Nintendo Switch improved mental health by 0.60 standard deviations, while owning a PlayStation 5 improved it by 0.12 standard deviations. Additionally, PlayStation 5 ownership increased life satisfaction by 0.23 standard deviations. These findings represent substantial enhancements in psychological well-being.
The study also found that increased gaming time correlated with better mental health outcomes, though the benefits began to diminish for those gaming more than three hours per day, indicating that moderation is essential.
