Do video games alleviate loneliness? The answer is yes for those who are socially motivated players.
What we are learning about the use of video games, or all media for that matter, to address mental wellbeing is that one size does not fit all.
Part of the power of media is there is so much of it, nuanced in its approach, niche driven narratives and mechanics that can reach us all.
Some game themes and mechanics are quite universally appealing and have broadest effectiveness, (Mario Odyssey, Tetris, Plants Verse Zombies) but may not reach a specific individual with outlier needs.
This study is a couple years old and we see the one size fits all approach not applying but a significant signal still being detected.
“Specifically, gamers with a higher social motive for gaming perceived less loneliness, but gamers with a dominant escape motive demonstrated a positive link to perceived lonelinessâ€.
The key will be finding your medicinal media and knowing it will evolve over time.
Source
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.683842/full
