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Video games can impact mental wellbeing in various ways, from fostering misogynistic views and loneliness to relieving stress and boosting memory, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) have identified 13 potential impacts of gaming on mental health, aiming to clarify the often-conflicting narratives surrounding this popular pastime.
Their findings, published in Technology, Mind and Behaviour, seek to provide a clearer framework for understanding the complex relationship between gaming and mental wellbeing.
The study highlights the need for more robust research in this area. While existing literature offers numerous theories and observed associations, it often lacks the structure necessary for rigorous testing and definitive answers, the researchers explain.
This new framework aims to address this gap and facilitate more targeted investigations into the potential harms and benefits of gaming.
The 13 identified pathways of influence range from negative impacts like exposure to misogyny and obsessive behaviour to positive effects such as stress reduction and memory improvement.
Senior author Professor Andrew Przybylski of the OII, added: “There’s no single answer to how gaming affects mental health.
“But our framework helps cut through the noise.
“By focusing on cause and effect, we hope this work encourages better theory development, and ultimately better digital wellbeing for players.”
To develop the framework, academics firstly “mapped out a wide spectrum of potential mental health impacts,” according to Dr Nick Ballou, a postdoctoral researcher at the OII, part of the University of Oxford’s Social Sciences Division.
“Second, we explored how these depend on not just the game itself, but on the individual and context,” he added.
“Finally, we reframed these effects in explicitly causal terms – something the field has been sorely lacking.”
What are the harms and benefits of gaming?
The 13 proposed impacts, both positive and negative, are:
- Relieving stress, although researchers warned this could lead to emotional dysregulation when overly relied upon.
- Gaming can satisfy players’ needs for “autonomy, belonging and mastery, but can also trigger feelings of coercion, failure and loneliness”.
- Multiplayer gaming can bolster bonds with friends, although playing online with strangers can expose players to toxic environments and suppress social ties.
- Gaming can help develop a healthy passion, although an obsessive passion could have negative impacts.
- The storylines in some games can create a sense of “nostalgia”, generating a sense of “meaning, appreciation and vitality”, experts suggest.
- Exercise games can lead to a short-term boost in mood and energy.
- Gaming could offer time and space for players to experiment with different identities.
- Fast-paced games could improve executive function, working memory and attention control.
- Games that support the likes of cognitive behavioural therapy can increase a player’s motivation to engage with treatment.
- Excessive gaming can lead to players neglecting work, sleep, exercise or relationships, leading to feelings of loneliness, guilt and fatigue.
- In-game purchases have been linked to overspending and gambling-like behaviours.
- Obsessive gaming can interfere with daily life and increase feelings of anxiety.
- Exposure to sexualised content may lead to low body satisfaction in women and increased misogynistic attitudes, especially among men.
Researchers added that changing literature on gaming and mental health “will be difficult but necessary to address long-standing questions about digital play”.
“Parents are looking for actionable guidance about how to manage children’s play and players themselves seek ways to monitor and regulate their own play behaviour,” they added.
English (US) ·