August 19, 2024

expert reaction to studying the effect of video gaming on mental well-being

A study published in Nature Human Behaviour looks at video gaming on mental well-being. 

Prof Pete Etchells, Professor of Psychology and Science Communication, Bath Spa University, said:

“Research into the effects of video games generally falls into one of two camps. First, experimental studies attempt to assess causal relationships between game play and psychology, but typically such studies are poorly controlled, and struggle to get over the problem of artificiality – the way you ask someone to play a game in a lab is very different to how they play in real life. Second, survey-based studies attempt to get around this issue by asking questions of participants’ actual game play; however these sorts of studies invariably struggle to give us more than correlational associations.

“This is why the present study is so interesting; it uses a survey-based method that takes advantage of a natural experiment that happened in Japan during covid to essentially test for causal relationships. Due to a lack of games console availability during the pandemic, lotteries were held to allocate the little stock available. The researchers in this study took advantage of this to try and understand the impacts of video game play as a function of that lottery outcome. The results show that broadly, there was a positive relationship with games console ownership and mental wellbeing. More than that though, we see some interesting nuance; Nintendo Switch ownership was associated with more positive outcomes in younger populations, and slightly favouring female participants, whereas PS5 ownership was associated with more pronounced outcomes in males and adult populations without children.

“This is a really neat way of using survey-based data to go beyond the usual sorts of correlational associations that we see reported, and the finding that video game play is generally associated with higher wellbeing is in line with the best studies that we have seen in the area recently. One key thing to bear in mind, though, is that the study took place during the covid pandemic, which may have resulted in more pronounced effects than we would otherwise typically see (due to higher-than-usual levels of poor mental health, and reduced abilities to engage in other activities). 

“It would be great to see more studies adopt these sorts of approaches. The best way to test for causal effects is to employ real-world industry data to understand how people are truly engaging with games, but until that we get that in a consistent and sustainable manner, it’s good to see researchers explore other avenues and novel methodologies.”

Dr Mike Cook, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at King’s College London, said:

Does the press release accurately reflect the science?

“The press release seems sound. The caveat about Covid is important and could be brought further up the article, but everything there makes sense.

Is this good quality research?  Are the conclusions backed up by solid data?

“The study takes advantage of a lottery that took place in Japan, as such it’s not a completely controlled environment but it has the advantage of being able to work on a much larger scale as a result. The authors also note that they can’t necessarily apply their results to all people – they give the example of someone who has never played games before and then decides to buy a console on a whim. This means that there could be other factors at play, like simply owning a new piece of technology. In general, the research is sound and seems to be good quality – although I am not a specialist in this kind of analysis.

How does this work fit with the existing evidence?

“As the authors also note, it is widely known that playing videogames can have positive effects on mental health (e.g. Zhang, RY., Chopin, A., Shibata, K. et al. Action video game play facilitates “learning to learn”. Commun Biol 4, 1154 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02652-7), which their data backs up. The reduction in benefits for those playing more than three hours a day is also an important finding, given that many people have concerns about videogames especially for young children.

“A lot of research into the impact of games on wellbeing often focuses too much on either positives or negatives, such as recent controversial addition of Gaming Disorder to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which classifies mental disorders.“These negatives in particular have been amplified by high-profile media coverage, with speculation around the Plymouth shooter and Christchurch attack being recent touchpoints. . This paper makes a good argument for games being positively impactful, while also acknowledging that overconsumption can have adverse effects (as with most pastimes).

Have the authors accounted for confounders?  Are there important limitations to be aware of?

“The most significant confounding factor in this study is the presence of the Covid-19 virus and subsequent lockdowns and economic impact. All human studies for the past few years have been impacted by this, particularly those that took place in 2020 and 2021. This is particularly relevant here as we know that people’s gaming habits changed significantly during this period, especially for people who previously did not play games.

“There was also a large impact on mental health globally due to the pandemic’s various effects on society. While the results make sense and are consistent with what we know about videogames, it’s important to acknowledge that this study was undertaken in extreme times. However, this also sets up the potential for follow-up studies that build on this in the future and might help us gain more insight into the impact of the pandemic, too.

What are the implications in the real world?  Is there any overspeculation?  

“Research which helps people understand the benefits of play is good for everyone, particularly when it comes to videogames which suffer from an image problem globally. Videogames are not just important for children, but for adults of all ages, and are becoming increasingly important for older generations as a source of social connection and mental challenge. One of the most interesting aspects of the study is that the effect of gaining a new videogame console was not even – winning or buying a Nintendo Switch had a different impact to winning or buying a PlayStation 5. This hints at a lot of interesting future questions about how different products affect our lives in different ways.

“The authors seem quite careful not to over speculate but do say they plan to conduct further research to understand the mechanisms of how gaming impacts people’s lives – understanding this better might help us find new ways to use videogames for other purposes too. There is already extensive research into how games can support rehabilitation or mental health outcomes, and more work needs to be done to properly understand how to use this more effectively.”

‘Causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan 2020–2022’ by Hiroyuki Egami et al. was published in Nature Human Behaviour at 16:00 UK time on Monday 19^th August. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01948-y

Declared interests

Prof Pete Etchells: PE is the author of Unlocked: The real science of screen time (and how to spend it better), and Lost in a Good Game (why we play games, and what they can do for us).

Dr Mike Cook: I have no funding links to the games industry, however I have close connections to researchers at studios such as The Creative Assembly, where I have given talks and discussed research ideas.