Video game play and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: a meta-analysis of global findings

During the COVID-19 pandemic, video gaming was often suggested as a way to help maintain physical distancing by encouraging people to stay indoors and play games instead of seeking social activities. However, there was concern about whether the increased time spent on video gaming could negatively affect players’ mental health. In our meta-analysis, we synthesized studies to evaluate changes in gaming time during the pandemic and examine its association with positive and negative mental health metrics. We searched databases for studies published from March 2020 to December 2021 reporting gaming time and mental health positive (e.g., happiness, positive affect, relaxation) or negative (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, anger) indicators during the pandemic. We employed random effects meta-analyses with robust variance estimates. We accounted for potential moderators (e.g., world region). In 17 studies (26 effects, n = 18026), we found a small increase in time spent gaming during the pandemic versus pre-pandemic, d = 0.26, 95% CI [0.14, 0.37], p = 0.0004. In 22 studies (100 effects, n = 19752), gaming time was not associated with mental health, r = −0.03, 95% CI [−0.08, 0.02], p = 0.22, regardless of whether it was for positive or negative mental health metrics. Moderator analyses indicated negligible differences across study characteristics (d