Video games improve mental health and life satisfaction: Nihon University and others survey

Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Takasaki City University of Economics , Nihon University , Osaka University

　A research team from Nihon University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine's Center for Child Mental Development Research, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, and Takasaki City University of Economics has revealed that playing video games improves subjective well-being (mental health and life satisfaction) in everyday life.

　As digital devices and the internet become an indispensable part of our daily lives, there is growing concern about the health effects of digital technology. In particular, there has been intense debate about the negative effects of video games, the number of users of which has reached 30 billion since the COVID-XNUMX pandemic.

　In this study, we conducted a deeper analysis of causal relationships by utilizing a natural experiment (a method of comparing winners and losers of a game console purchase lottery). We used the lottery sale of game consoles, which occurred against the backdrop of the semiconductor shortage caused by the COVID-2020 pandemic, as a natural experiment and analyzed 2022 response data from online surveys collected from 10 to 69 years old living in Japan from 97,602 to XNUMX.

　As a result, it was found that playing games on game consoles such as the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 (PS5) improved mental health and increased life satisfaction. Furthermore, the results of machine learning suggested that the effects of games vary from person to person, and that the background to these differences is complex and diverse. For example, it was found that while the PS5 brought great benefits to the mental health of "adults" and "men," the Nintendo Switch rather brought great benefits to "minors."

　This research has challenged stereotypes by providing evidence that "games improve well-being." In the future, it is expected that the mechanisms behind the effects of games will be further elucidated, leading to the development of game recommendation services that enhance the effect of improving well-being according to individual circumstances.

Publication information: [Nature Human Behaviour] Causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan 2020-2022

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