Among them, the conceptual lenses adopted tend to diverge from examining video game play in terms of time spent.
Turning their attention away from examining the negative effects of video games, some researchers have suggested that video games can facilitate positive functioning and flourishing ( Jones et al., 2014). There is also substantial disagreement among scholars about the effects of violent video games on aggression, with several studies showing null or small effects ( Kühn et al., 2019 Mathur and VanderWeele, 2019). According to the General Affective Aggression Model (GAAM), extended and repeated exposure to violent video games could contribute to an aggressive personality and greater manifestations of aggressive behaviors by affecting people’s aggressive beliefs, perceptual schemata, expectation schemata, behavior scripts, and desensitizing aggression ( Anderson and Dill, 2000).Īgainst this backdrop of research, it is important to note that the estimated number of people screened to have gaming disorder is relatively low ( Stevens et al., 2021 Kim et al., 2022), with some research suggesting that pathological gaming could potentially be caused by poor psychosocial wellbeing in the first place ( Lemmens et al., 2011). Beyond the general negative effects of gaming, there is also considerable debate as to the effects of violent video games on aggression. IGD may be associated with wellbeing outcomes such as satisfaction with life and loneliness ( Lemmens et al., 2015). Related to this is pathological gaming-also called Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD)-which refers to excessive and problematic gaming behavior ( Lemmens et al., 2015). First, some researchers suggest that the negative effects of video games-especially among children and youths-come about as it displaces time spent on other more productive and healthy activities such as physical activity and academic activities, among others ( Gentile, 2011). Among the many coping behaviors individuals have adopted to deal with these changes, playing video games has-depending on who one asks-been argued to be both a panacea and a harm ( Yee and Sng, 2020 De Pasquale et al., 2021 Lewis et al., 2021 Nugraha et al., 2021 Reynolds, 2021 Zhu et al., 2021).Īmong critics, video games are considered to be harmful in various ways.
Such measures have brought about profound changes to the way we live our lives, leading to substantial negative psychological consequences arising partially from greater social isolation and loneliness ( Brooks et al., 2020 Pietrabissa and Simpson, 2020). Containment measures targeted at reducing the rate of viral transmissions have led to greater time spent at home ( Lades et al., 2020). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Ī mental health epidemic occurred against the backdrop of strict movement controls enacted by various governments in efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings offer support that video games can offer psychological relief in stressful contexts by providing opportunities for people to satisfy key psychological needs. Conversely, players stopped playing the game when they found that their psychological needs were thwarted or better met through other activities. Findings suggest that playing the game helped satisfy various psychological needs-autonomy, relatedness, and competence-as described by Self-Determination Theory. Through semi-structured interviews with players, and using a theory-informed qualitative analysis, we document and examine players’ motivations and experiences playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the pandemic. One such game which soared in popularity during the early stages of the pandemic was Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The increasing amount of time spent indoors and isolated during periods of lockdown has been accompanied by an increase in the time people spend playing video games. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way many people live their lives.
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