Study suggests video game playing may have mental health benefits under some conditions

A team of experts in mental health, human behavior, and economics from multiple institutions in Japan has found that under the right conditions, playing video games could be beneficial for your mental health.

In their research, Published In the journal Nature and human behavior The group sent surveys to people who were isolated at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, some of whom were entered into a raffle to win video game consoles and games.

Research has produced mixed results on the mental health effects of regular, long-term video game play. Some have suggested that video games can be addictive. In teenagers, it can lead to social isolation and even aggressive behavior. The World Health Organization has even classified “gaming disorder” as a mental illness.

Other studies have suggested that such findings are exaggerated. One problem that researchers in this field have encountered when studying such effects is the difficulty of quantification. Most studies have been conducted in controlled environments, which may have influenced the results.

For the new study, the research team found an opportunity outside the lab to study the effects of video games on large numbers of people who were confined to their homes during the early days of the pandemic.

Demand for video game consoles and related games soared during Japan’s lockdown. To keep things fair, console makers held lotteries: Winners had the choice to buy either a Sony PlayStation 5 or a Nintendo Switch, while losers had to find other ways to have fun.

The research team realized this was an opportunity to test the effects of playing video games on a group of captured players. They created a questionnaire to measure mental health and time spent playing games and sent it to lottery participants. They received 97,602 questionnaires that were completed and ready for analysis.

The researchers found a pattern in the responses: People who play video games seem to have higher life satisfaction — an important factor in mental health — than non-gamers. They also found that the benefits have limits: People who play more than three hours a day experienced the same benefits as people who only played three hours a day.

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