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

Disordered gaming, loneliness, and family harmony in gamers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Several studies have demonstrated that during the pandemic (in comparison to pre-pandemic times), there were significant increases in gaming ( Balhara et al, 2020 , Shrestha et al, 2020 , Vuorre et al, 2021 ), loneliness ( Groarke et al, 2020 , Killgore et al, 2020 , Li and Wang, 2020 ), and dysfunctional family relations (Bradbury‐Jones & Isham, 2020; Goldberg et al, 2021 , Westrupp et al, 2021 , Zhu et al, 2021 ). Based on the existing literature, we expected to observe similar patterns in a sample of gamers; in other words, we hypothesized that the scores of disordered gaming (IGD and GD), loneliness, and dysfunctional family harmony would have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and inflicted social limitations in comparison to pre-pandemic (i.e., 2019).…”

“…Recently, disordered gaming has been associated with an average of 34 hours of gaming per week (when accessed with the APA diagnostic framework) and an average of about 40 hours of gaming per week (when accessed with the WHO framework) ( Pontes et al, 2022 ). However, in light of research indicating to increased time spent on gaming during the pandemic ( Vuorre et al, 2021 ), it could be argued that the COVID-19 global pandemic has created a particular environment that may lead to problematic behavior and subsequently to possible well-being problems, because restrictions may induce gaming. Coping with pandemic-induced stress could lead to relying on gaming as a stress-relief (also evidenced in Barr & Copeland-Stewart, 2022 ); this could, however, lead to subsequent disruption in daily life (e.g., arguments with others due to gaming, prioritizing gaming over other important daily activities, such as school or job).…”

“…As a result, several campaigns were promoted during the pandemic to encourage people to play video games whilst staying at home safe (e.g., Play at Home, #PlayApartTogether). Furthermore, several studies (e.g., described in King et al, 2020 , Vuorre et al, 2021 ) have demonstrated that gaming has increased significantly during the pandemic, with recent research suggesting that increased gaming may be due to pandemic-related stress ( Balhara et al, 2020 , Shrestha et al, 2020 ). Interestingly, Teng et al (2021) conducted a recent longitudinal study of 1,778 children and adolescents in China, examining the relationship between psychological health and disordered gaming before (i.e., 2019) and during the pandemic (i.e., 2020), and concluded that while children and adolescents both increased their video game use during the pandemic, only adolescents presented with greater levels of disordered gaming symptoms during the pandemic.…”

“…However, it should be noted that gaming, especially during the pandemic, might not necessarily be bad. Empirical evidence shows that gaming activities have increased during the pandemic – this applies to gaming in general ( Vuorre et al, 2021 ), but also to problematic gaming ( King et al, 2020 ). It can be argued that the increase of gaming was further fueled by highly engaging gaming features and game releases driven by the rising market during the pandemic ( López-Cabarcos et al, 2020 ).…”

Gaming disorder and the COVID-19 pandemic: Treatment demand and service delivery challenges

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of prosperity for the global video gaming industry, as millions of people turned to gaming for reasons including social connection, mental stimulation, and coping with stress ( King et al, 2020 ; Maxted, 2020 ). Studies report that, during the pandemic, time spent gaming increased ( Vuorre, Zendle, Petrovskaya, Ballou, & Przybylski, 2021 ), without being associated with negative consequences in most cases ( Barr & Copeland-Stewart, 2021 ; Zarco-Alpuente et al, 2021 ). Moreover, involvement in gaming activities conferred mental health and social compensatory benefits ( Barr & Copeland-Stewart, 2021 ; Giardina et al, 2021 ).…”