Causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan 2020-2022.

ABSTRACT: The widespread use of video games has raised concerns about their potential negative impact on mental well-being. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence supporting this notion is largely based on correlational studies, warranting further investigation into the causal relationship. Here we identify the causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan (2020-2022) using game console lotteries as a natural experiment. Employing approaches designed for causal inference on survey data (n = 97,602), we found that game console ownership, along with increased game play, improved mental well-being. The console ownership reduced psychological distress and improved life satisfaction by 0.1-0.6 standard deviations. Furthermore, a causal forest machine learning algorithm revealed divergent impa

SUBMITTER: Egami H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11493677 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature