Excessive Video Gaming Linked to Poor Mental, Social, and Academic Outcomes in Children

A research team from Hong Kong has discovered that excessive video gaming is associated with negative mental, social, and academic consequences among school-aged children, with varying patterns between genders.

Online gaming holds a significant place in youth culture, with internet gaming disorder (IGD) recognized in the DSM-5 for further study and formally diagnosed in ICD-11.

East Asia has high IGD rates, particularly among adolescents, especially boys. Long-duration gameplay connects to depressive symptoms, anxiety, and sleep disturbances.

In their recent study published in PLOS One, titled "The roles of binge gaming in social, academic and mental health outcomes and gender differences: A school-based survey in Hong Kong," researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey involving schools to evaluate the prevalence of excessive gaming, related mental, social, and academic impacts, and gender variations.

The study included 2,592 primary and secondary students, consisting of 1,404 boys and 1,188 girls (average age ~12), from five primary and four secondary schools in Hong Kong.

Students completed a classroom questionnaire indicating if they had played internet games for five or more consecutive hours within the past month. This included checklists for DSM-5 IGD symptoms over the previous 12 months.

The overall prevalence of excessive gaming was found to be 31.7%, with rates higher in boys (38.3%) than girls (24.0%). Girls reported worse sleep quality more frequently than boys (65.5% vs. 58.6%). There were no gender differences in depression, anxiety, or stress levels above mild thresholds.

Among boys, after adjusting for age and total gaming time, excessive gamers showed higher rates of IGD, depression, anxiety, stress, and poor sleep quality compared to non-excessive players.

Among girls, excessive gamers also displayed elevated rates of IGD, depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and reduced educational self-efficacy, sleep quality, and social support compared to their non-excessive gaming peers.

The study found that non-gamers had lower levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness when compared with excessive gamers. For girls, they also exhibited higher educational self-efficacy; for boys, there were lower stress and loneliness rates without significant differences in depression or anxiety from comparing both groups.

The authors suggest that excessive video gaming might serve as a marker and risk factor for adverse social, academic, and mental outcomes in young students, with distinct gender-specific effects such as higher levels of loneliness among female gamers.

Recommendations include implementing prevention strategies aimed at reducing lengthy continuous play sessions, early identification of potential issues through monitoring both excessive patterns and total gaming hours, along with consideration for personalized psychosocial interventions.

Written by Justin Jackson. Edited by Sadie Harley. Fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article results from rigorous quality journalism work. We rely on readers like you to support independent science reporting. If this information is valuable to you, please consider donating (especially monthly). In appreciation, you will get an ad-free experience as a token of our gratitude.