scholarly journals A large-scale study of changes to the quantity, quality, and distribution of video game play during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Vuorre ◽  
David Zendle ◽  
Elena Petrovskaya ◽  
Nick Ballou ◽  
Andrew K Przybylski
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
School Activities ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Key Points

Video game play has been framed both as protective factor and risk to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an objective analysis of changes to video game play during the pandemic to provide an empirical foundation to the fractured discourse surrounding play and mental health. Analyses of millions of players’ engagement with the 500 globally most popular games on the Steam platform indicated that the quantity of play had dramatically increased during key points of the pandemic; that those increases were more prominent for multiplayer games, suggesting that gamers were seeking out the social affordances of video game play; and that play had become more equally distributed across days of the week, suggesting increased merging of leisure activities with work and school activities. These data provide a starting point for empirically grounded discussions on video games during the pandemic, their uses, and potential effects.

scholarly journals Stakeholders’ Consensus on Strategies for Self- and Other-Regulation of Video Game Play: A Mixed Methods Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3846
Author(s):  
Michelle Colder Carras ◽  
Matthew Carras ◽  
Alain B. Labrique
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Gaming Disorder ◽  
Preventive Interventions ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
Game Mechanics

Background: Little is known about strategies or mechanics to improve self-regulation of video game play that could be developed into novel interventions. This study used a participatory approach with the gaming community to uncover insider knowledge about techniques to promote healthy play and prevent gaming disorder. Methods: We used a pragmatic approach to conduct a convergent-design mixed-methods study with participants attending a science fiction and education convention. Six participants answered questions about gaming engagement and self- or game-based regulation of gaming which were then categorized into pre-determined (a priori) themes by the presenters during the presentation. The categorized themes and examples from participant responses were presented back to participants for review and discussion. Seven participants ranked their top choices of themes for each question. The rankings were analyzed using a nonparametric approach to show consensus around specific themes. Results: Participants suggested several novel potential targets for preventive interventions including specific types of social (e.g., play with others in a group) or self-regulation processes (e.g., set timers or alarms). Suggestions for game mechanics that could help included clear break points and short missions, but loot boxes were not mentioned. Conclusions: Our consensus development approach produced many specific suggestions that could be implemented by game developers or tested as public health interventions, such as encouraging breaks through game mechanics, alarms or other limit setting; encouraging group gaming; and discussing and supporting setting appropriate time or activity goals around gaming (e.g., three quests, one hour). As some suggestions here have not been addressed previously as potential interventions, this suggests the importance of including gamers as stakeholders in research on the prevention of gaming disorder and the promotion of healthy gaming. A large-scale, online approach using these methods with multiple stakeholder groups could make effective use of players’ in-depth knowledge and help speed discovery and translation of possible preventive interventions into practice and policy.

scholarly journals Video game play is positively correlated with well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 202049
Author(s):  
Niklas Johannes ◽  
Matti Vuorre ◽  
Andrew K. Przybylski
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Need Satisfaction ◽  
Game Play ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
Play Behaviour ◽  
Adequate Data

People have never played more video games, and many stakeholders are worried that this activity might be bad for players. So far, research has not had adequate data to test whether these worries are justified and if policymakers should act to regulate video game play time. We attempt to provide much-needed evidence with adequate data. Whereas previous research had to rely on self-reported play behaviour, we collaborated with two games companies, Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America, to obtain players' actual play behaviour. We surveyed players of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons for their well-being, motivations and need satisfaction during play, and merged their responses with telemetry data (i.e. logged game play). Contrary to many fears that excessive play time will lead to addiction and poor mental health, we found a small positive relation between game play and affective well-being. Need satisfaction and motivations during play did not interact with play time but were instead independently related to well-being. Our results advance the field in two important ways. First, we show that collaborations with industry partners can be done to high academic standards in an ethical and transparent fashion. Second, we deliver much-needed evidence to policymakers on the link between play and mental health.

scholarly journals A large-scale study of changes to the quantity, quality, and distribution of video game play during a global health pandemic.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Vuorre ◽  
David Zendle ◽  
Elena Petrovskaya ◽  
Nick Ballou ◽  
Andrew K. Przybylski
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
Large Scale Study

scholarly journals Video game play is positively correlated with well-being

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Johannes ◽  
Matti Vuorre ◽  
Andrew K Przybylski
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Need Satisfaction ◽  
Game Play ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
Play Behaviour ◽  
Adequate Data

People have never played more video games and many stakeholders are worried that this activity might be bad for players. So far, research has not had adequate data to test whether these worries are justified and if policymakers should act to regulate video game play time. We attempt to provide much-needed evidence with adequate data. Whereas previous research had to rely on self-reported play behaviour, we collaborated with two games companies, Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America, to obtain players’ actual play behaviour. We surveyed players of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons for their well-being, motivations, and need satisfaction during play and merged their responses with telemetry data (i.e., logged game play). Contrary to many fears that excessive game time will lead to addiction and poor mental health, we found a small positive relation between game play and well-being. Need satisfaction and motivations during play did not interact with game time but were instead independently related to well-being. Our results advance the field in two important ways. First, we show that collaborations with industry partners can be done to high academic standards in an ethical and transparent fashion. Second, we deliver much-needed evidence to policymakers on the link between play and mental health.

Relationships between video game play factors and frequency of lucid and control dreaming experiences.

Dreaming ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Sestir ◽  
Ming Tai ◽  
Jennifer Peszka
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
And Control
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