Answer: Video games are a ubiquitous part of almost all children’s and adolescents’ lives, with 97% playing for at least one hour per day in the United States. The vast majority of research by psychologists on the effects of “gaming” has been on its negative impact: the potential harm related to violence, addiction, and depression. We recognize the value of that research; however, we argue that a more balanced perspective is needed, one that considers not only the possible negative effects but also the benefits of playing these games. Considering these potential benefits is impor- tant, in part, because the nature of these games has changed dramatically in the last decade, becoming in- creasingly complex, diverse, realistic, and social in nature. A small but significant body of research has begun to emerge, mostly in the last five years, documenting these benefits. In this article, we summarize the research on the positive effects of playing video games, focusing on four main domains: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and so- cial. By integrating insights from developmental, positive, and social psychology, as well as media psychology, we propose some candidate mechanisms by which playing video games may foster real-world psychosocial benefits. Our aim is to provide strong enough evidence and a the- oretical rationale to inspire new programs of research on the largely unexplored mental health benefits of gaming. Finally, we end with a call to intervention researchers and practitioners to test the positive uses of video games, and we suggest several promising directions for doing so.
Keywords: video games, mental health, adolescents, social, motivation
The game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions . . . we learn by Chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favourable change, and that of persever- ing in the search of resources.
—Benjamin Franklin, “The Morals of Chess”
Today, in the United States, 91% of children between the ages of 2 and 17 play video games (NPD Group, 2011), and a nationally representative study of U.S. teenagers found that up to 99% of boys and 94% of girls play these games (Lenhart et al., 2008). In the United States alone, video games brought in over $25 billion in 2010, more than doubling Hollywood’s 2010 box office sales of $10.8 billion in the United States and Canada (Motion Picture Association of America, 2011). Against this back- drop of nearly ubiquitous play, the popular press regularly
pulses out urgent warnings against the perils of addiction to these games and their inevitable link to violence and ag- gression, especially in children and adolescents. Indeed, the vast majority of psychological research on the effects of “gaming” has been focused on its negative impact: the potential harm related to aggression, addiction, and depres- sion (e.g., Anderson et al., 2010; Ferguson, 2013; Lemola et al., 2011). It is likely that this focus will not diminish in the near future, in part because of the enormous media attention garnered when mass killings (e.g., the Columbine High School slayings in 1999) are associated with youth who play violent video games (Ferguson, 2007).
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