In a new study that turns the screen-time controversy on its head, scientists out of Japan say that playing video games can give a power-up to one’s mental health.
Researchers from Nihon University looked at survey data from more than 97,000 people aged 10 to 69 from 2020 to 2022, when gamers were starved of consoles like PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch due to pandemic supply chain shortages.
Some retailers used lottery systems to distribute the devices to gamers, while others went without.
According to the study that was published in Nature Human Behaviour, lottery winners who scored the consoles and played showed “significant improvements” in mental health compared to non-winners.
The researchers found that the gamers found stress relief and a greater sense of psychological well-being than non-players — though those effects leveled off as a gaming session hit the three-hour mark, the researchers noted.
Shafiur Rahman, a senior assistant professor at Hamamatsu University School of Medicine and the study’s co-author, claims, “As an epidemiologist, I’ve often seen concerns about gaming’s negative impacts. However, this study’s robust methodology challenges those preconceptions. It highlights the need for a more nuanced approach in studying digital media’s effects on health.”
The researchers allowed that since their study was conducted during the stressful lockdown times, when other entertainment like playing sports was limited, it could have boosted the positive effects they noted.
Hiroyuki Egami, another co-author and an assistant professor at Nihon University, concluded, “We’ve shown that gaming can improve mental health and life satisfaction across a broad spectrum of individuals.”
Methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.