Stop game shame: How long you play doesn't matter as long as you love gaming

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-03-12 11:01

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Gamers catch a lot of flack for the length of time they play their favourite games, but new European research suggests that the amount that people play doesn't affect their life satisfaction, mood or mental health, but instead how connected the players felt to gaming did. The researchers looked into the over 140,000 hours of game time that 703 gamers in the US put into 150 different Nintendo Switch games. They found the length of time the gamers played for had little to do with their wellbeing, however, when questioned on how the games fit into their lives, the authors noted positive wellbeing outcomes.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Stop game shame – Perceived value of video games, but not hours played, predicts mental well-being in casual adult Nintendo players

We studied how playing Nintendo Switch games affects well-being, using data from 703 US adults who played over 140,000 hours across 150 games. We found that the amount of time spent gaming didn’t predict life satisfaction, mood, or mental health. However, how players felt about gaming’s role in their lives—whether it fit well with their lifestyle—did relate to well-being. These results suggest it’s not about how long people play, but how gaming fits into their life. While long-term effects of gaming are unlikely, we didn’t test for cause-and-effect relationships.

Stop game shame – Researchers are challenging the assumption that more time playing video games damages mental well-being. Studying 703 US adults playing over 140,000 hours on the Nintendo Switch, it was found that game time didn’t predict mental health, mood, or life satisfaction. However, how players felt about how gaming fit into their lifestyle did relate to mental well-being. Thus, more focus should be on the quality, not quantity, of gaming.

Journal/
conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Queen Mary University of London, UK

Funder: This research was supported by Huo Family Foundation and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ES/W012626/1). KM was supported by Forskningsrå det för hälsa, arbetsliv och välfärd (2021- 01284).

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