Associations between gaming, with and without friends, and subjective well-being

The results of this study enhance the knowledge base for health promotion practitioners and policy makers regarding how video gaming among adolescents can be more health-promoting.

Background: The mental health and well-being of adolescents of Western societies is declining. A significant share of Western adolescents spends a considerable amount of time playing video games, but the mental health influences of this pastime have yet to be examined in detail. To date the findings have been mixed regarding the mental health effects of adolescent gaming behavior and taking a closer look at various aspects of the gaming activity is needed, including accounting for the role of gaming as an arena for social interactions with friends. Because there are differences in gaming habits and well-being between boys and girls, applying a gendered perspective in such studies is demanded. The aims of the present study were: to assess whether 1) gaming time and 2) time spent with friends through gaming are independently associated with subjective well-being among adolescents; 3) whether an association between gaming time and well-being is moderated by amount of social interaction with friends through gaming; and 4) whether associations and moderation of 1), 2), and 3) are further moderated by gender.

Methods: This study used cross-sectional data from the Ungdata survey from 16,565 14–19 year old Norwegian adolescents. Subjective well-being, video gaming time, frequency of interaction with friends through gaming, gender, age, family socio-economic status, parental involvement, and physical activity level were assessed. A hierarchical multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to answer the research questions.

Results: For both boys and girls, time spent video gaming had a small negative association with well-being, while frequency of being with friends through gaming had a small positive association with well-being. The negative association between gaming time and well-being was slightly reduced by higher frequency of being with friends through gaming for boys, but not for girls.

Conclusion: Video gaming in adolescence appears to be a complex phenomenon, necessitating a thorough and nuanced examination to more fully understand its influence on well-being and for better-targeted health promoting interventions. The effect of spending time with friends via gaming platforms on adolescents’ well-being, and the potential protection of meeting friends in this virtual setting against the negative mental health impacts of gaming, deserves further research.