Escaping Into Video Games: Good or Bad?
Research has shown that escaping real life by playing video games can have positive and negative consequences. But which of the two weighs more? Should we all play (more) video games or less? On top of that, are there cultures (Western or non-Western) that are more exposed? Here's a meta-analysis explaining what's going on.
• One reason why people play video games is to escape reality (escapism), which can have positive and negative outcomes.
• Which outcomes weigh stronger, and if any culture is more exposed to them, is yet unknown.
• Using a meta-analysis approach, data from ~29,000 participants were analyzed.
• Escapism has a stronger association with negative outcomes. Meaning, playing video games to escape real life has stronger negative consequences than positive ones.
• "Thus, in Western countries, escaping in video games has a higher association of adverse outcomes than in non-Western countries." [1]
Why do we play video games? Researchers have found that motives such as socialization, competition, challenge, escaping reality (escapism), aesthetic sense, skill advancement, and friends' pressure play a role in it. As we have seen in a previous episode, escapism is a big motive for people to fire up a video game. The following immersion in video games can be a mental diversion from real-life issues and can lead to psychological and behavioral outcomes. As we have also seen in previous episodes, escapism can have positive and negative consequences.
"For instance, numerous researchers have claimed that escapism has a relationship with negative outcomes, such as depression, time wastage, negative mood, social anxiety, loneliness, and self-discrepancy." [1]
On the other hand, research has also shown that escaping in video games can lead to positive outcomes, including enjoyment, fun, and relaxation.
It's great to know what kind of consequences escapism can have, but it doesn't answer the question of which type of outcomes (negative or positive) outweighs the other. This is what the study aimed to do. In addition, they investigated whether escapism is associated with different outcomes in cultures (Western and non-Western). In order to do so, the researchers used a meta-analysis approach, meaning they took data from 27 published studies. In total, they had data from 28,893 participants (7,850 with negative outcomes, 10,493 with positive outcomes, and 10,550 with mixed outcomes).
🏃 Escaping into Gaming
First, the results show the dualistic nature of escapism, meaning the significant relationship between escapism and positive and negative outcomes. Second, "the magnitude of the negative outcomes' mean effect size was larger than the positive outcomes' mean effect size." [1] In plain English, escapism has a stronger association with negative outcomes. Meaning, playing video games to escape real life has stronger negative consequences than positive ones.
This is something that other studies have found too. Escaping real-life problems by playing video games leads to even worse problems. The reason is likely that real-life problems don't get solved when we avoid them, but also that playing too many video games can lead to physical and psychological problems in itself.
The third finding was that the group that contained only participants from a Western culture had a greater mean value for negative outcomes.
"Thus, in Western countries, escaping in video games has a higher association of adverse outcomes than in non-Western countries." [1]
Their findings support other studies that argue that escaping in leisure activities due to self-suppression from negative real-life elements (e.g., loneliness) can result in negative outcomes.
Have a great week. Cheers,
Christian 🙂
