Online gaming and prolonged self-isolation: evidence from Italian gamers during the COVID-19 outbreak

2021

Objective: The self-isolation measures employed during the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for basic needs to be met, thus increasing emotional distress. It has been suggested that socially meaningful online gaming buffered emotional distress during the lockdown. This study aimed to test the protective effect of online gaming during the lockdown and to investigate the differences between highly involved gamers (those who play videogames intensely without adverse consequences) and problematic gamers in this regard. Method: Capitalizing on a data collection that started before the pandemic, we adopted a cross-sectional between-groups study design in which gaming patterns, gaming-related v…