A natural experiment born out of the COVID-19 pandemic’s supply chain disruptions has allowed scientists in Japan to uncover the causal effects of video gaming on mental health. The findings upend common perceptions of gaming as a threat to mental well-being.
By studying individuals who won lotteries to purchase gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, the researchers found that owning a console led to reduced psychological distress and improved life satisfaction. Their research has been published in Nature Human Behaviour.
With nearly three billion gamers worldwide, gaming has become a major part of daily life for many people. However, concerns have grown over the possible adverse impacts of gaming, especially as organizations like the World Health Organization have classified ‘gaming disorder’ — a condition characterized by persistent gaming behavior — as a mental health issue in the International Classification of Diseases.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a surge in gaming activity, added fuel to this discussion. Many parents and policymakers began to worry about whether gaming was negatively affecting young people’s mental health. However, the psychological impact of gaming has remained uncertain, as most existing research has been based on observational studies that can’t establish cause and effect.
“As parents of three children ourselves, we became acutely aware of the widespread concerns about video gaming’s effects on youth, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said study author Hiroyuki Egami, an assistant professor at Nihon University. “Many parents, including ourselves, felt guilty or anxious about their children’s gaming habits, fearing potential negative consequences. These worries often create tension at home and in families.”
“During lockdowns, when families were confined at home with parents working remotely and children unable to attend school or kindergarten, we noticed a surge in blog posts from parents expressing guilt and fear about their children’s increased digital media use. As policy study researchers, we became interested in whether these worries were backed by scientific evidence. Upon investigation of the literature, we were surprised to find no conclusive evidence supporting these concerns, which further motivated us to explore this topic through an evidence-based approach.”
The study took advantage of the pandemic-era supply shortages of the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 in Japan. Due to these shortages, retailers organized lotteries that determined who could purchase the consoles. The researchers viewed this lottery system as a natural experiment, where winning the lottery served as a randomly assigned event that determined whether someone could purchase a console and begin gaming. This setup provided a unique opportunity to examine the effects of gaming in a real-world environment, free from many of the biases that typically affect observational studies.
The research team conducted five rounds of online surveys between December 2020 and March 2022, collecting data from 97,602 individuals aged 10 to 69 across Japan. The surveys asked participants about their gaming habits, mental health, life satisfaction, and other sociodemographic factors. Importantly, the researchers collected information about whether participants had won a gaming console lottery and whether they were using a console regularly.
The main outcomes of interest were psychological distress and life satisfaction, measured through widely used scales: the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). These tools provided a snapshot of each participant’s mental health and overall satisfaction with life. The researchers also tracked how much time participants spent playing video games and whether they owned a gaming console, in order to assess how these factors correlated with changes in well-being.
“Before our study, the existing literature on the association between video gaming and mental health showed mixed results,” Egami noted. “Without causal studies, the actual relationship remained unknown, and based on association studies, we anticipated effects that could range from positive to negative, or potentially show no significant impact at all.”
The researchers used advanced statistical techniques, including multivariate regression, propensity score matching, and instrumental variable methods, to ensure the results were as accurate as possible. They found that individuals who won the lottery to purchase a gaming console showed reductions in psychological distress and improvements in life satisfaction.
“The second author of this study, Md. Shafiur Rahman, an epidemiologist, was the one who was most surprised to see the results,” Egami told PsyPost. “In his field, concerns about gaming’s negative impacts are prevalent among researchers. However, our study’s robust methodology challenges these preconceptions, highlighting the need for a more nuanced approach to studying digital media’s effects on health.”
Specifically, owning a Switch reduced psychological distress by about 0.2 standard deviations, and owning a PS5 reduced distress by 0.1 standard deviations. Life satisfaction also improved for PS5 owners by approximately 0.2 standard deviations. While these numbers don’t represent transformative changes, they point to real and positive shifts in well-being.
“The stereotype that video games are particularly harmful to children is not supported by our data,” Egami said. “We found the Nintendo Switch actually showed more substantial benefits for children’s mental health compared to adults.”
“For parents: It’s natural to be concerned about your children’s gaming habits, but our research suggests these worries may be overstated,” he added. “Imposing unnecessary restrictions can create tension around gaming in your household, which may negatively affect both you and your children. A more balanced, individualized approach is recommended, keeping in mind that while gaming can be beneficial, moderation is key to maintaining those positive effects.”
Further analysis revealed that the positive effects of gaming on mental well-being were more pronounced for certain groups of people. For example, younger individuals and those with higher levels of initial distress experienced greater improvements in mental health from gaming. Younger individuals benefited more from owning a Nintendo Switch, while PlayStation 5 ownership had stronger positive effects for older participants.
Furthermore, hardcore gamers—those who played video games frequently and with more intensity—showed greater mental health improvements from owning a PlayStation 5, whereas more casual gamers saw stronger benefits from owning a Switch. However, the researchers also found that the benefits of gaming diminished when people played for more than three hours per day, suggesting that moderation is key to obtaining the mental health benefits of gaming.
“Balance is important,” Egami emphasized. “Gaming has diminishing returns when done in excess. While we observed positive effects, benefits started to level off after about 3 hours of play per day. Too much of anything can reduce its value.”
“Interestingly, we may not be the most surprised by our results,” he said. “In discussing our study with other scientists, we’ve encountered individuals who firmly believed that video gaming must have negative effects on mental well-being and overall life quality. Some seemed to hold these beliefs with unwavering conviction, despite the lack of scientific evidence. Our findings, therefore, are not just surprising, but also intriguing, challenging these long-held beliefs.”
Despite the positive findings, the study had some limitations. One important consideration is that the data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of heightened stress and limited physical activity. The researchers acknowledged that the unusual circumstances of the pandemic may have influenced their findings, potentially amplifying the positive effects of gaming. They suggested that future research in non-pandemic settings would be necessary to confirm whether these benefits hold in different contexts.
“With fewer opportunities for physical activity during lockdowns, people may have been less likely to substitute gaming for exercise — effectively removing one potential negative pathway through which gaming might impact mental health,” Egami explained. “Given these unique circumstances, it is possible that our current estimates of gaming’s positive effects may be higher compared to what we might find in pre- or post-pandemic settings.
“However, we do not believe the pandemic is solely responsible for the beneficial effects identified in our study. Multiple mechanisms through which gaming can positively impact mental health are outlined in our paper.”
Additionally, the study focused on two specific gaming consoles—Nintendo Switch and PS5—so the results may not apply to other types of gaming, such as mobile or PC gaming. The researchers also relied on self-reported data, which can sometimes be inaccurate, though the use of the lottery-based natural experiment helped reduce potential biases in the findings. Looking ahead, the researchers plan to investigate the mechanisms behind the positive effects of gaming on mental well-being.
“Our long-term research goals are multi-faceted,” Egami explained. “First, we aim to uncover the underlying mechanisms that explain the positive effects of gaming on mental well-being. This could include exploring whether video games provide physical activity through exergames, satisfy basic psychological needs, foster social connection, enhance cognitive engagement, offer meaningful experiences, and provide stress relief. Understanding these and other potential mediating variables could help explain why and how video gaming positively impacts mental health, and whether these effects persist across different contexts and gaming formats.”
“With a deeper understanding of these mechanisms, we hope to develop models that can predict the effect of specific gaming experiences on individuals. This knowledge could lead to practical applications, such as personalized game recommendations on online platforms. Unlike current systems that primarily aim to increase sales, these recommendations would be designed to enhance players’ enjoyment and well-being. Ultimately, our goal is to contribute to improving the overall gaming experience and well-being of players through evidence-based, personalized approaches.”
By leveraging a unique natural experiment, the researchers were able to move beyond the limitations of previous research and provide clearer insights into how gaming affects life satisfaction and psychological distress. While more research is needed to fully understand the long-term implications of these findings, the new study provides a solid foundation for future investigations into the relationship between video gaming and mental health.
“The widespread belief in gaming’s negative effects significantly impacts public perception,” Egami said. “Many parents feel guilty or excessively worried about their children’s video game habits, fearing potential negative consequences. These concerns can create unnecessary tensions at home, despite the lack of firm scientific evidence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we became particularly attuned to these worries and began exploring an evidence-based approach to address this topic. Our study now provides robust scientific evidence to ease some of those worries. As both a father (Hiroyuki Egami, first author) and a mother (Chihiro Egami, fourth author) of three wonderful children, we hope our research can offer some reassurance to parents in similar situations.”
The study, “Causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan 2020–2022,” was authored by Hiroyuki Egami, Md. Shafiur Rahman, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Chihiro Egami, and Takahisa Wakabayashi.
