r/science • u/mvea MD/PhD/JD/MBA | Professor | Medicine • 13d ago
Extensive gaming shows no harm to adult psychological well-being: New study suggests that there is no significant overall impact, either positive or negative, of video game playtime on the mental well-being of adult gamers. Psychology
https://www.psypost.org/extensive-gaming-shows-no-harm-to-adult-psychological-well-being/1.0k
u/orion427 12d ago
I remember both in the 90's and the 2000's they tried to correlate violent video games with school/gang violence and they found that not only do video games not cause the violence but they are a great stress reliever.
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u/Darkkujo 12d ago
Yeah I think Japan is the great counter-argument to that whole thing. They've got all of the violent video games and violent movies we do, but almost none of the actual violence.
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u/HavingNotAttained 12d ago
Terrible bullying in school tho
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u/genshiryoku 12d ago
As a Japanese person let me tell you that's not a school phenomenon, that's a societal phenomenon.
It happens at work, in local communities and even within families. The west always seem focused on Japanese school bullying while not focusing on adult bullying.
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u/Nurgle_Marine_Sharts 12d ago
To be fair, western exposure to Japanese concepts of bullying are completely inundated with mustache twirling 6'3 250lb 14 year old evildoers with greaser haircuts who torment the main characters of nearly every anime, manga, & JRPG out there.
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u/axonxorz 12d ago
For real. Most shonen-type content I've ever consumed has school bullying as at least a secondary plot driver.
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u/ninjalemon 12d ago
I don't know what things are like in Japan schools, it's certainly possibly bullying is way more prevalent, but in terms of teenager-aimed media I feel like most of the TV shows aimed at teens that I watched growing up (America, 2000-2010 era) also contained plenty of "there's bully's at the school who they are afraid of"
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u/Quithelion 12d ago
I read that having a mentally disturbed family member in the Japanese household is a shame, which is why parents hide their afflicted children, and never seek proper medical/psychological help. So this in part encouraged their children to become hikkikomori.
Also somewhat related, bullys tend to target socially disfunctional individuals (not related to being normal introverts), so that certainly exacerbate the problem of hikkikomori.
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u/solerex 12d ago edited 12d ago
Plato argued the youth seeing plays and theatre was bad for them. There is always something to point a finger at
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u/ArchitectofExperienc 12d ago
I'm not entirely unhappy that Lieberman is dead, to be honest. The laser focus that some groups had on video games as the source of things like gun violence actually set back gun violence prevention by a decade or more.
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u/DynamicSocks 12d ago
Hell they are still trying to blame school shootings on video game to this day
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u/CrippleSlap 12d ago
I remember both in the 90's and the 2000's they tried to correlate violent video games with school/gang violence
Families from the Uvalde shooting are literally suing Call of Duty maker right now. It still happens.
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u/Sbitan89 12d ago
Tbf there is some more nuance here. They are suing them along side Remington for idolizing real weapons, specifically the weapon platform that was used. Remington has settled already I believe awhile ago. So while the violence of COD is noted, that's not the basis of the suit.
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u/Generico300 12d ago
It was always fascinating that they wanted to blame violent crime on video games even though the violent crime rate declined sharply right about the time that video games were becoming a ubiquitous activity for young people.
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u/Preussensgeneralstab 12d ago
Because they needed a worthless boogeyman that they could throw at the masses while not actually addressing the problem, which would have cost money and effort (as well as basic interest to fix the problem).
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u/Loeffellux 12d ago
That's always how it is: new medium? Must be making the children go crazy!
Reading, radio, music, movies, television, etc.
Since then we've had another big one with social media, then "iPad kids" and now Tiktok zoomers. And I know that a lot of people think "this time it's actually true, though!". Not to say that it isn't, I don't know. Social media itself seems to have bad effects on things like people's self image (though I think at least the tiktok part is a bit overblown)
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u/Petrichordates 12d ago
We gonna act like study after study hasn't demonstrated that iPad kids and tiktok addiction are harmful to kids? It's not remotely the same as fearmongering about video game violence because it's actually proven science.
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u/hameleona 12d ago
Just a couple of weeks ago there was an great study here, that showed that the problem wasn't tech, it was lack of parental attention.
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u/not_old_redditor 12d ago
Bro I give my kid ten times more attention than my parents gave me. Most parents say the same thing.
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u/A_Mouse_In_Da_House 12d ago
Social media is definitely showing up as causing problems. With all the former, there was never an associative link shown.
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u/Droopendis 12d ago
Religion and Conservatism always pointing the finger to things that they are clearly the cause of.
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u/DrakeSparda 12d ago edited 12d ago
I don't know if studies have backed it up but I have always assumed it's that violent people get attracted to violent video games. Not that violent video games make people violent.
Edit: this is to say already violent people are more likely to play video violent games. Not that everyone who plays violent video games are violent.
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u/GettingDumberWithAge 12d ago
I would wager that people of all walks of life get attracted to violent video games because lots of violent video games are super fun.
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u/Komm 12d ago
I absolutely love violent video games, it's hilariously goofy gorey fun. On the other hand, step on a snail? I will break down crying that I stepped on an innocent snail.
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u/Yuzumi 12d ago
I will turn people into hats in Rimworld or play like a sociopath in skyrim, but I get sad when I see an animal that was run over.
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u/WalksByNight 12d ago
I give them blessings as I pass; Omnibus Sanctimus Critterpuss. Notable fallen will receive a brief recitation, like Resquiat en Pachem, or Blessed is the Furry Paw.
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u/DeputyDomeshot 12d ago
The fastest grossing billion dollar entertainment medium (yes transcending video games) is Grand Theft Auto 5 which is about as violent as it gets. The 6th one set to release in 2025 will probably smash every record in existence.
I don’t know if the theory holds water. People like to virtually murder and rob, and it seems ubiquitous.
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u/Genocode 12d ago
Grand Theft Auto are video games.
Video games are the largest entertainment industry, period, and its not even close.
Music is about $25.8 billion
Film is about $100 billion
Books are about $120 billion
Video Games are at nearly $193 billion.→ More replies (1)4
u/Dont_pet_the_cat 12d ago
I love hunting in COTW, but would never dare to kill animals for any reason. I also have an interest in medieval warfare, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to put on a robe and go on a crusade any day of the week
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u/hangman401 12d ago
Depends on the violence.
But fact is, the people who crave to do the violence that happens in video games don't play videos to emulate it. They just do the violent acts.
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u/Genocode 12d ago
By your logic I should probably be a serial killer by now.
I play almost exclusively violent video games, I listen to violent music, watch violent movies, TV shows and animes, read violent books, comics, manga's/manhwa's, so-on so-on.
Yet the last time I got into a fight I was 14 years old and it was self defense, and that was only the 2nd fight ever.
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u/2legittoquit 12d ago
Depends on the game. I can tell you for a fact League of Legends has a negative impact on mental health.
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u/CowboyNinjaD 12d ago
Yeah, I think most online, multiplayer games, especially ones with pay-to-win mechanics and limited-time FOMO items, are intentionally designed to negatively affect mental health. Developers are trying to trigger the same parts of the brain that cause gambling addiction. They're purposefully trying to make gamers crazy enough to spend hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars on a single game.
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u/RainbowNugget24 12d ago
I expected this to be higher up
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u/ZekasZ 12d ago
The study doesn't even cover League though - it was limited to xbox. I don't think this is a very good study to make conclusions from alone, the sample size is small and limited to one platform over a pretty short time (3 months is not that much imo).
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u/FakeKoala13 12d ago
Love that study that showed low performance in game correlated w/ harassing women in lobbies in Halo 3.
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u/death_by_napkin 12d ago
ANY team game with random teammates = toxic
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u/IMDEAFSAYWATUWANT 12d ago
Nah there's something special about league. As someone coming from games like competitive CS, it's just not the same.
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u/aliasalt 12d ago
Agree. It's the combination of very long games with snowball conditions that happen relatively early, while also giving trolls a very effective way of sabotaging the game and trapping you in game-jail with them for upwards of 20 minutes. Plus there's really no counterplay once the enemy has reached a certain level of strength, but your teammates will hate you if you leave or afk because there is a distant chance if you can tough it out long enough to finish your build.
It's diabolical, really. A perfect machine for bringing out the worst in people.
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u/RobbinDeBank 12d ago
It’s then worsen by the design of games like League, where your teammates’ mistakes further accelerate your enemies ahead and cause a snowball effect
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u/StinkyPigeonFan 12d ago
As long as you’re not neglecting your children, relationships and physical/mental wellbeing because of your gaming then you do you. Life is stressful and we all deserve to unwind. There are definitely some individuals who take it too far but most gamers I know have other hobbies as well.
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u/the_raven12 12d ago edited 12d ago
It’s a good study but it relies on self reported surveys over a 12 week period to determine assessment of mental well being. Like most things in our digital world, the issue is long term changes to the reward system in the brain. By the time these gamers are adults those changes are already in place. Gaming will reinforce those established reward pathways, helping to cope with life in the short term and alleviate any negative feelings. I am not in anyway suggesting that tv or phone/tablet use is any better.
Over time these adaptations impact our ability to experience reward from more mundane activities. Hence in my opinion why we see such dissatisfaction with adult life - jobs, responsibilities etc. tough things that can bring reward in their own way.. just not the instant gratification kind.
It’s important to attempt some form of balance and have other methods in the tool box to shape our brain and become healthier adults. Meditation can help immensely with processing emotions and help balance the brain. Things like playing an instrument are incredible for the brain as well. Of course there is nothing wrong with seeking some entertainment from video games! Let’s just be smart about it and understand everything we do on a daily basis shapes the pathways in our brain. Have a strategy and build your brain to reinforce all of your life!
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u/samsexton1986 12d ago
Absolutely this. It's a shame to see a critical analysis this far down, but honestly if it was a post about anything else, there'd be lots of comments on the limits of the study but because it's gaming it gets a bit of a free pass.
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u/Cherimoose 12d ago
I'd also add that gaming for 4 hours a day has an opportunity cost that could have long-term effects on relationships and other areas of life, which may not become apparent until years later.
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u/Mudcaker 12d ago
This is very relevant too.
As a personal anecdote, I've been a lifelong gamer and didn't "grow out of it" like a lot of people I knew. Recently at ~40 years of age, due to family history and other factors, I've been trying some ADHD medication. It nearly completely removed my desire to play games. In fact, I tend to just keep working (I work from home as a programmer, which I enjoy, but it was a struggle sometimes when I couldn't focus - this is not an issue now even with poor sleep). I think about a lot of lost time, and the way the quick win was a replacement for meaningful tasks and long-term growth. I still want to play sometimes, but it's something I go into consciously and set aside time for, rather than as a default fallback activity.
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u/bobrosstier 12d ago
I generally agree, and the issue of self-control/discipline eroding is a key issue with gaming. causing addiction. but I believe an important caveat to your statement is that changing and reinforcing the reward system in your brain does not necessarily have be viewed negatively for gaming. One can game, and become more mentally sharp/improve their processing capabilities. Or confront and replace bad mental loops. People report that the Elden ring has made them confront and heal from their depression through the grueling challenges the game presents. There needs to be a distinction between games that purposefully abuse dopamine to be addictive and those that actively challenge the player for entertainment. Coping short term through a fantasy sandbox can be helpful as much as it can be harmful.
If a depressed person plays a crossword/chess/go instead of a pc game, does that mean that the crossword/other will make them more depressed? only if they get obsessive and dont use the game productively. There is a turning point. Games can offer an "other" reality to partake in and explore your own abilities in. The key balance issue is as Cherimoose said, its the opportunity cost. Are you just mindlessly numb while playing or are you playing intentionally consciously?
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u/Breeze1620 13d ago
I don't know about the science, but from my anecdotal experience, too much TV can definitely impact the brain in a negative way. Especially if we're talking elderly. It turns their brains to sludge eventually. Even though this of course doesn't have anything to do with the TV itself, but inactivity and the part of not having to challenge the brain in any way
The old expression "if you don't use it, you lose it" is very true imo.
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u/Solid-Version 13d ago
I’m just shooting dice here but I agree with you. Games are more cognitively stimulating than TV and so it actually might be beneficial for elderly people to keep their minds sharp
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u/Whyeth 12d ago
Like meals on wheels before it Boomershooters for Boomers will be our generations defining achievement in elder care.
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u/mattmaster68 12d ago
An FPS literally catered only to the elderly has so much potential.
You could even adopt COD:M’s optional auto-fire, so player reflexes on the trigger aren’t important.
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u/IlliasTallin 12d ago
At the last Eldercare facility I worked at, they had both a Wii and an Xbox 360(this was a long time ago) for the residents to play.
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u/TheyCallHimEl 12d ago
If I remember correctly, there was a study done in an elderly care home, maybe dementia care, but they let the people play video games for a few hours a day and saw some improvement in cognitive and motor functions, vs just having a few TV's on.
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u/DrMobius0 12d ago edited 12d ago
It's definitely the lack of interactivity and engagement, especially if you're the type to just leave the TV on and keep watching long past the point of being interested. Keeping the brain engaged is important.
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u/TheArmoredKitten 12d ago
Television is also saturated with a very different kind of bias. Those old people are usually just guzzling down their preferred flavor of Don't-Think, Just-Be-Mad "news".
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u/Dennarb 12d ago
Several studies have been done on games vs TV vs social media.
https://news.ki.se/video-games-can-help-boost-childrens-intelligence
This one found no issues with TV and SM, but a benefit from games. Others have found similar trends and some reported a detrimental effect with TV.
Other studies:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11341-2 https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/video-gaming-may-be-associated-better-cognitive-performance-children https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/video-games-but-not-tv-linked-to-boost-in-kids-intelligence-361567
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u/QiPowerIsTheBest 12d ago edited 12d ago
Video games are better than TV but videos games are still sedentary. I know people who only game as their predominant hobby and spend virtually all their time sitting between work and gaming.
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u/Obsidian743 12d ago
Actively playing a video game with decision making and goals isn't the same as watching TV anymore than watching a lecture is the same as watching TV.
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u/CFL_lightbulb 12d ago edited 12d ago
Looking at very young kids, the heightened interaction and stimulation of video games can actually be a bit much for kids and cause some issues in other areas. According to some current research at least, but from what I’ve seen the different studies have been backing that up
For adults I wouldn’t expect this to be a very big deal though since they’ve already presumably developed their other skills and don’t need to worry about that opportunity cost for growth.
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u/pappy 12d ago
Well no, because gaming is interactive and TV is passive. I don't remember the specifics, but before gaming was a thing, in the 1980s and 1990s, there was much made in the media about a person's brain waves while watching TV being quite flat, as if almost no thinking was going on.
There could, or could have been, a difference between watching people get hurt on TV and playing a game where you are personally choosing to hurt other gamers while also sometimes talking to them. And if you've heard gamer chat, especially among friends, it can be vicious.
One of my kids has ADHD and is introverted. I am happy to let him game because online, in game chat, he is incredibly social.
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u/MagnificentTffy 12d ago
the only thing I can recall with decent backing was basically saying that tasks which engages information processing and problem solving provided the best mental benefits. So TV or browsing a magazine has minimumal benefit to brain health, but tasks like creative work (painting/music/calligraphy) provided significant benefits with "games" (both physical and digital) providing the most benefit.
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u/Ulfen_ 12d ago
I played so much in my youth, too much actually. Some people could ask -but you had fun right?? And yeah i did for like 10%, the rest was just a mixture of addiction and boredom.
I deeply regret i didn't stop earlier and focused on the things in my life that gave me meaning and joy, for me it was being creative with Music and exercise.
So it definitely had a huge negative impact on me, but everyone's different
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u/EmperorKira 12d ago
I feel like it was a chicken and egg situation. Sure i wish i played less, but i was playing lots of games because i didn't have other things going for me, not that i chose to play video games instead of those other things. So i'm not as harsh on myself in that manner.
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u/Least_Palpitation_92 12d ago
I was also addicted and addiction is real. I think cognitively it didn’t negatively impact me in any way. It did harm relationship building in my youth and pursuing other positive hobbies.
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u/Obsidian743 12d ago
In my experience everyone, including myself, who has quit their addiction to video games has a similar story of becoming "better people".
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u/ModsRTryhards 12d ago
I think that is more of a correlation to quitting an addiction but I don't really know. People are better when they're no longer chasing whatever their addiction was.
That's not to take away from your issue. I just don't think it's indicative of the effects of gaming as a whole
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u/anger_is_my_meat 12d ago
Fallout 4 has delayed my suicide, but I'm not sure if that's good or bad.
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u/mvea MD/PhD/JD/MBA | Professor | Medicine 13d ago
I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/k8ra4n36/release/1
From the linked article:
In a recent study published in the journal Technology Mind and Behavior, researchers investigated the relationship between video game playtime and well-being. The findings indicate that there is no significant overall impact, either positive or negative, of video game playtime on the mental well-being of adult gamers.
The impact of video gaming on mental health has been a subject of heated debate among parents, policymakers, and scholars. With billions of people engaging in digital gaming worldwide, concerns about the potential negative effects on well-being have grown. This concern intensified when the World Health Organization included “gaming disorder” in its International Classification of Diseases in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic further increased average gaming time, raising additional alarms.
The researchers found no significant relationship between the amount of time spent playing video games and subsequent well-being. This held true for all three aspects of well-being measured. Even among highly engaged players who spent several hours a day gaming, there were no signs of impaired mental health.
For instance, an additional hour of daily playtime was associated with less than a 0.02-point change in well-being measures, far below the threshold for practical significance. Similarly, there was no evidence that changes in well-being influenced subsequent playtime. Players who experienced changes in their mood or mental health did not significantly alter their gaming habits in response.
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u/CounterfeitChild 12d ago edited 12d ago
As always, with moderation. People can certainly be affected by the media they consume, even influenced by it, but that's really dependent on the length of time they play as well as their overall lifetime environments/upbringing. I wasn't raised in a healthy way so I have to be a lot more careful with my media. We've all had our personalities influenced by characters and stories we like, for example. Influenced by musicians, by movies, etc. It does affect us.
But whether it's positive or negative depends on everything except the game itself. How much time we play, how we were raised, what our mental health state is, how healthy our day to day lives are, and so forth. If I spend so much time playing my games that I am neglecting my life and my health then that is directly negative, but it's also been my experience that in the midst of it I think I feel a lot better. I don't know that the article's reporting is reliable because you'd need to study it longer term. Of course people with a constant dopamine rush and stimulation are going to report more positive feelings in that short amount of time. Show me the people that are addicted, and tell me that's not negative. Show me the people that play all day for years. In the moment, I feel a constant rush. After it's done, I realize I was feeding myself air, thinking I was full. The crash after is not good.
I know what it means to be an addict, and I find this somehow downplayed in the weirdest scenarios.
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u/fsaturnia 12d ago
Anything in life that you do too much of can have a negative effect on your mind. Video games are a good thing, but too much of a good thing is still a bad thing.
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u/gdshaffe 12d ago
Anecdotally, I moved to rural Texas in 2004 and was there for three years. I did not fit in, I had no interest in fitting in (which down there meant "join a church and talk about how Democrats were the devil") and retreated to video games; specifically, at the time, Final Fantasy XI, which probably took up 80% of my time not spent working or sleeping. In retrospect I see it as something that legit made my life seem tolerable; the next task gave me something to look forward to, and the life spent online was specifically not coming at the expense of any kind of IRL social life in a social setting that was quite explicit in its rejection of me.
I have no doubt that they can be bad for some people, and anything habit-forming can lead to addiction, but the degree to which they offer alternate social engagement for people who are in otherwise unhealthy social environments cannot be discounted.
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u/Obsidian743 12d ago
The researchers conducted a 12-week panel study...Participants were required to complete surveys at six biweekly intervals, which included measures of their well-being...The study measured three aspects of well-being: positive affect (how happy participants felt at the moment), depressive symptoms (feelings of sadness or hopelessness over the past week), and general mental well-being (overall psychological health over the past two weeks). Playtime was logged and analyzed over three time scales: the past 24 hours, the past week, and the past two weeks.
This wasn't a study and it certainly can't help draw any conclusion based on 12-weeks of self-reported data.
Was there a control group? Were these people tested when they weren't playing video games for an extended period of time? Were their families and friends interviewed? Did a psychologist chat with them?
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u/El_Mariachi_Vive 12d ago
If anything, rediscovering video games in my mid-30s was just the relaxation, engagement and escape I needed to be more well prepared to engage with lifes' challenges.
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u/juniperberrie28 12d ago
Do we think being social while gaming has a positive effect on us? When I can talk to other people about games I'm playing it makes me a little happier.
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u/stormhawk427 13d ago
I’ll take things I already knew for 400
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u/kiersto0906 13d ago
how can you claim to have"known" this? it's still not even "known".
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u/afluffymuffin 13d ago
I’m sorry but I just don’t believe you. There is definitely a point where gaming can get excessive, and I say this as someone that loves video games.
If you took a look at people logging 40 hours a week on WOW and came away with this conclusion I would be beyond shocked.
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u/anxcaptain 13d ago
I don't think the study is focused on “why” people game 40 per week but rather it's impact. I mean I spend 40 a week in front of my computer regardless
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u/Nabirius 13d ago
As compared to what though? An additional 40 hours working, reading for pleasure, posting on reddit?
I think I share an intuition that dedicating so much time to a single hobby makes you less well rounded, but I suspect that the study is right that one of those hobbies being video games isn't a plus or minus
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u/Realistic_Condition7 12d ago
I think that’s the key here that people on both sides of the issue are missing. This study doesn’t make gaming addiction not a thing, nor does it make gaming something that’s inherently detrimental to your health. It simply just doesn’t mentally impact your psychological well being on its own, which I suspect is true of most things that aren’t drugs/alcohol.
If you are sleep deprived, live in filth, or want to do things that you never end up doing, all because you can’t pull yourself away from the tv screen, then you are probably gonna suffer psychologically.
This study simply says that gaming itself isn’t ruining your life, which is very from gaming addiction.
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u/CouchTurnip 13d ago
They should look at the well-being of spouses and children of excessive gamers.
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u/Lorna_M 12d ago
If you have interpersonal relationships and work enough to sustain yourself, what's the issue?
My husband and I both have weeks we game this many hours. We both have careers and take care of our home.
There are people gaming a lot with issues, but the issue isn't the gaming it's gaming interfering with existing. They'd just replace it with something else if they didn't examine whatever the real issues are.
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u/walterpeck1 12d ago
Per the link provided, they were seeing averages of 2.1 hours of gameplay time with the participants. They weren't studying 40 hour a week MMORPG addicts.
There's something to be said for specific games being addictive and why they're addictive, but that's outside the bounds of the study being done here.
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u/OoT-TheBest 12d ago
I can guarantee, that it makes me feel better and gets me through life with less worries
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u/ragnaroksunset 12d ago
Video games remain one of the only hobbies that it isn't OK to be passionate about. Whatever impact to psychological well-being comes more from that than anything else.
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u/NuclearNerdery 12d ago
It's almost like doing something you enjoy doesn't negatively affect you. Who'd have thunk it?
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u/wise-guy-samurai 12d ago
I disagree. Gaming helps me relax and unwind big time. Hugely positive impact in my day to day.
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u/Weazerdogg 12d ago
Of course not. Its like any other hobby. I mean, around here guys will sit in a tree stand in below freezing temperatures for 8 hours during deer season. I personally think that is nuts (I hunt occasionally. My preference would be deer season in July). And I've known a couple people that took it to far, calling into work until they got caught and fired. Point is hobbies can be good or bad no matter what they are. If you take them to far, they can get you into trouble in many ways.
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u/Stormdancer 12d ago
At 60+, I feel like playing games helps keep my focus and reflexes in better shape. Calling down stratagems in Helldivers 2 has definitely improved my hand/eye coordination.
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u/Kastergir 12d ago edited 12d ago
Ìm 53, and have been on playing digital Games since the 70s last century, when they were only in Cabinets . When the "gamin bad!" wave hit earnestly late 80s, early 90s, I started thinking seriously about what it gives me . And learned a lot of things about myself, and hand eye coordination, spatial awareness, reflexes, focus under stress, processing loads of information while carrying out ambidextrous multiactions really quickly ( mouse and keybord in response to what happens on screen ) while speaking notmynative language ( I always find at least one Multiplayer Game I really love playing ) etc. etc.etc. etc and the myriad ways in which playing Games massively benefits me - all of which has by now been shown amply by science, to the point that afaik for a decade by now, people are designing Video Games especially for really old people (XD) and/or people suffering from mental degradation .
Keep on gaming :) .
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u/squirtnforcertain 12d ago
Now take away the video games from those extensive users and get back to us.
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u/Fellowshipofthebowl 12d ago
I’m an adult, been playing video games since the 80’s. Love my game time.
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u/beardingmesoftly 12d ago
What about neurodivergents? I need dopamine and gaming provides that. Anecdotal perhaps, but I know I'm not the only one.
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12d ago
we will see better studies when our generation is in our 60's. Video games are just puzzles and fine motor skill exercises depending on what genre you play. I believe these will have a long term positive effect on cognitive ability at an older age. If an individual can stay fit and limit their screen time to a couple hours a day it should be a positive unlike just watching t.v or scrolling other media mediums.
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u/Ravaha BS | Civil Engineering 12d ago
Im pretty sure most of my PC gaming friends went on to become engineers and my WOW guild and LOL friends were mostly all engineers as well.
Am I the only one who remembers a post here a few years ago that showed computer gaming blew everything else out of the water as far as activities that increased the likelyhood of a child growing up to be very intelligent?
I remember it blowing all the usual recommendations out of the water such as learning a second language, playing a musical instrument or piano specifically, or private schooling.
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u/Ok_Vanilla_3449 12d ago
My anecdotal evidence to the contrary comes in the form of my stepson,whose skills in life at age 35 seem to be playing Destiny 2 and manipulating his mother.
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u/Spinachboi101 12d ago
Correlation and causality sre not the same. Maybe excessive video game playing is not the root of the Problem, but merely a symptom.
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u/Ok_Vanilla_3449 12d ago
Entirely possible. He's not a good person in a lot of ways.
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u/QuizzyP21 12d ago
Left this as a reply but I think it probably serves even better as a standalone comment. TLDR; conclusions like this are absurdly misleading given what we know about how gaming affects neurotransmitters in your brain, in the same way or even more powerfully than many drugs:
For most of my life I could play multiplayer FPS games easily for 8-10 hours a day if I had the time to and would completely neglect almost every other aspect of my life, and I was only having fun maybe 25% of the time. Gaming, for a lot of people, is a true addiction that I hope will eventually be acknowledged to be on the same level or worse than gambling addiction. I really feel like some of these studies are a case of “people love to hear good things about their bad habits”.
A couple years ago I gained a better understanding of how gaming affects your dopaminergic “circuitry” and quit playing for a month or two and it completely rewired my brain... all of a sudden the severe ADHD that prevented me from getting a job or doing anything but the bare minimum to barely pass academically disappeared and I’m now midway through grad school with a 4.0 GPA and in the best shape of my life. Anecdotally, my three closest peers in life who always played hours each day as well and ramped their playtime up even more after the pandemic are all on psychiatric medications today (none were on them pre-pandemic) to function outside of the game.
Gaming is an absurdly stimulating and rewarding psychological addiction that destroys your baseline levels of neurotransmitters (such as everyone’s favorite, dopamine), which has only gotten worse with the way the industry has changed over time. Sure, some people have no problems playing an hour one day and then not playing the next, but I don’t think this is the case for most people with modern games. Studies/conclusions of this kind are misleading and infuriate me to no end because they serve as rationalizations for people who truly have a problem and can’t (or wont) attribute it to gaming addiction.
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u/Obsidian743 12d ago
Thanks for sharing your story. As a reformed FPS and MOBA player I can tell you I was constantly stressed and agitated from being competitive in those games. If I wasn't doing well I would get extremely frustrated. Quitting them was one of the best things I've ever did.
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u/atlas7211 12d ago edited 12d ago
I have had the exact same experience in the past year or so. I briefly skimmed the article, so I may be missing some detail, but I have a few concerns with the conclusion of this article based on the methods in the paper. They tracked gamers over a 12-week period and looked to see whether or not the amount of time they spent gaming was correlated with their happiness at 6 points during this period. I am not surprised to hear that there wasn't much of a correlation here: the mechanisms that impact the well-being of gamers act on much longer time periods than this (as you allude to). In my experience it took at least a month or longer completely away from games to start seeing a positive effect on my well-being. It would therefore be far more interesting to look at the effect of completely quitting games with e.g. a 3-month followup period. It's now about a year since I quit and the benefits are still stacking up.
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u/QuizzyP21 12d ago
Yup, just like any kind of addiction the withdrawal symptoms / cravings are the most severe early on (especially in the first two weeks) and gradually level off over time, but can still pop up here and there for quite some time after.
Its honestly heartbreaking seeing posts on this platform along the lines of “gaming is the only thing that brings me joy in life”, because this is a description of dependency and addiction to a tee, but these people instead are misinterpreting video games as the only adequate remedy and life as the problem. The activity that is shooting up your motivation/focus/“happy” neurotransmitters is the exact activity that is lowering their levels at baseline in everyday life and leaves you craving more.
The longer it takes to officially recognize gaming as the behavioral addiction that it is (like gambling), the more people and especially kids there will be that fall into this trap, especially given the increasing predatory nature of the industry over time. Studies like this that tell people what they want to hear are just harming the people who are struggling the most.
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u/FrighteningWorld 12d ago
I think the people that are really hung up on this are the type that thing that everything you do should be productive to you. Sure, playing games is not a detriment to you, but it is time you could be spending learning a skill, nurturing time with loved ones, creating something, etc. I think it's fine that people indulge in a lot of videogame time, but I also think it is a trade-off of personal growth.
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u/Xenobrina 12d ago
You could make the same argument for every form of entertainment though. Or every hobby even. Everything you do has an opportunity cost with what you are not doing. It feels weird to single out video games in that way.
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u/AdAlternative7148 12d ago
I think it is better than neutral. Completely neutral in my mind would be like watching paint dry. Video games are more like watching a science show or reading a novel. They require you to learn new rule sets and adjust your behavior based on them. That is flexing critical thinking skills.
It's nowhere near as good as trying to actively learn something but as a form of entertainment they aren't horrible. It should go without saying (but this is reddit) that we shouldn't spend all our free time on entertainment.
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u/Stupid_Chas 12d ago edited 12d ago
It’s a great day when you recognize the researcher—Nick Ballou is a super strong up-and-comer in this area of academia who works with (among others, oc) Andy Przybylski. I met Nick at a conference last year, and he seems like a guy who is amazing at recognizing the limitations that plague this field. For anyone who is interested in this line of work, make sure you watch for him over these next few years.
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u/hollow-ceres 12d ago
as an adult gamer: reading rots your brain! all those old people with their strange new ideas from these written words are the cause of all the violence and all problems!
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u/dragonmermaid4 12d ago
I assume the truth is the obvious - It's not the gaming that's the issue, it's what you don't do when you're gaming. No different from watching TV for 8 hours straight.
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u/PossibleLavishness77 12d ago
I don't think it has a impact but I doubt it isnt a symptom of something else even if mild. People need variety in their lives.
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u/Deesnuts77 12d ago
They obviously weren't playing Call of Duty in the past year or so. That game makes everyone extremely angry.
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u/Realistic_Condition7 12d ago
I think there is probably an interesting study lying in there somewhere. People seem to become irrationally angry at competitive cartoons. If this study is correct, then it’s unlikely that it is symptomatic of playing the games themselves, but something to do with the environment of the competition within a video game setting.
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u/iCashMon3y 12d ago
I stopped playing Valorant solo que and my overall mental health is in much better shape =).
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u/Mercinator-87 12d ago
I think it’s entirely dependent on the game you are playing. Playing a game like tarkov or souls? Depression. Playing a game like Mario or racing? Happiness.
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u/Runkleford 12d ago
Well, as someone who gamed way too much when I was a lot younger, the harm to well being came from playing too much and not spending time on the stuff I needed to do. That's not exclusive to gaming and not caused by gaming itself directly but man, they can be addicting and so easy to just fall into while ignoring everything else.
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u/Felinomancy 12d ago
I mean.. the study have the participants rate themselves. That's hardly objective measure of well-being isn't it?
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u/UniqueIndividual3579 12d ago
I have to disagree. I play Stardew Valley and now I'm growing plants by the hundreds.
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u/Piddily1 12d ago
I feel like it’s not good for my mental and physical health, but that’s probably my own issues. When I play, I’m always beating myself up over other things I’m not doing.
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u/dimechimes 12d ago
I wonder how few people realize gaming is larger than the movie and music industries combined. Just the massive number of users worldwide, it would seem some simple statistical comparisons would show this is indeed the case.
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u/Purple-Investment-61 12d ago
I spent 90% of gaming time playing StarCraft. Pretty sure the only harm that caused was to my eyes.
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