essay effect of online games

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Positive effects of online games on the growth of college students: A qualitative study from China

1 School of Nursing, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

2 School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

Chaoqun Dong

Jingjing zhang, associated data.

The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

This study aimed to explore the positive effects of online games on college students’ psychological demands and individual growth.

A qualitative study design was carried out in September 2021. Semi-structured, in-depth, and individual interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 20 undergraduates who played the online game “Glory of Kings” from six universities. Thematic analysis was employed to explore the positive features caused by “Glory of Kings”.

College students reported three positive effects of online games, namely, satisfying the need for personal growth, meeting the requirement of social life and promoting academic performance.

College educators and families should take advantage of the positive effect of online games to guide college students to use online games reasonably.

1. Introduction

According to the survey data of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), by the end of December 2021, the number of netizens in China reached 1.032 billion, of which the number of online game users reached 554 million ( CNNIC, 2022 ). The number of game apps reached 709,000, accounting for 28.2% of all apps ( CNNIC, 2022 ). Online games include massive, multiplayer, online role-playing games (MMORPGs), first-person shooter (FPS), real-time strategy (RTS) games, and other games ( Park et al., 2016 ). MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game, a subgenre of RTS games where two teams of five players usually play against each other ( Mora-Cantallops and Sicilia, 2018b ), is one of the most popular online games in China because of its competitive, interactive, and simple operating characteristics. Specifically, “Glory of Kings,” as a MOBA game, is listed at the top of the Chinese mobile game charts for contemporary college students ( Huang, 2021 ).

Online games are criticized by educators because many students invest a lot of time, money, and energy into games, which seriously affects their academic studies, social interaction, and physical and mental health, and ultimately leads to the tragedy of online game addiction ( Freeman, 2008 ; Kuss and Griffiths, 2012 ; Blinka and Mikuška, 2014 ; Xu et al., 2017 ). Online game addiction, as one of the most serious behavioral addictions ( Lopez-Fernandez, 2018 ), could cause a series of physical and mental problems, such as poor sleep, depression, anxiety, or even death ( Ferguson et al., 2011 ; Kuss and Griffiths, 2012 ; Wei et al., 2012 ). Meanwhile, parents’ opposition to online games can also be observed in family education. Studies have shown that the more addicted adolescents are to online games, the worse their parents’ attitude toward online games ( Jeong and Kim, 2011 ). Many adolescents who love playing online games face restrictions or prohibitions from their parents over the time spent on the Internet or other ways. For example, in a study of 2,021 adolescents, parental restrictions were 1.9 times higher among adolescents who were overly addicted to online games than among other adolescents ( Wu et al., 2016 ). Parents who do not show enough attention to their children promptly can lead to children using online games to divert negative family-related emotions ( Xu et al., 2021 ).

However, it is worth noting that the majority of studies focus on the negative effects of online games ( Lo et al., 2005 ; Ng and Wiemer-Hastings, 2005 ; Yc, 2006 ; Smyth, 2007 ; Li and Wang, 2013 ), while positive effects are neglected. In fact, playing online games at a moderate level could be beneficial to players’ personal psychological growth and interpersonal relationships ( Ko et al., 2005 ; Yee, 2006b ; Granic et al., 2014 ). In terms of emotional experience, existing research on the emotional impact of online games suggests that they have the potential to reduce depression, stress and obtain happiness ( Wu and Liu, 2007 ; Ari et al., 2020 ; Pine et al., 2020 ). In the process of psychological development, college students’ cognitive, memory, and other mental skills are proved to be enhanced by online games ( Boot et al., 2008 ; Glass et al., 2013 ; Oei and Patterson, 2013 ). There is evidence that games have the potential to provoke thought about the player’s personal development and ideals and increase the sense of self-realization if the players have strong ability in online games ( Nuangjumnong, 2014 ; Bopp et al., 2016 ; Mora-Cantallops and Sicilia, 2018a ). In social life, online games also establish the value of social connectedness and enhance the sense of interaction ( McClelland et al., 2011 ; Snodgrass et al., 2011 ; Oliver et al., 2016 ). Sublette and Mullan (2010 , p. 20) argue that through online games “socialization may just shift in focus: while real-world relationships eroded for some players.” It is further proposed that intimacy in games will also extend to offline real life, and shared game experience will reinforce offline communication ( Kim and Kim, 2017 ; Lai and Fung, 2019 ). MOBA games focus on personality development and teamwork in battle ( Yang et al., 2014 ; Mora-Cantallops and Sicilia, 2018b ). In other words, electronic space expands social communication to the virtual field ( Yee, 2006a ) and increases the team cooperation consciousness, leading to diverse communication ways. Besides, in terms of learning, online games are proven to help students engage in learning activities ( Iaremenko, 2017 ; Schenk et al., 2017 ; Calvo-Ferrer and Belda-Medina, 2021 ).

Existing research confirms that the academic performance and satisfaction of Chinese college students positively impact on the continued use of the “Glory of Kings” and promote the reconstruction of the player’s social image ( Chen and Chang, 2020 ). As mentioned above, previous studies have examined various positive aspects of online games, but the studies are based on foreign cultural contexts. Research subjects from different cultural backgrounds may have different perceptions and influences on online games, so it is culturally significant to study the positive influence of online games on Chinese college students. In other words, whether they can apply to the Chinese culture and environment or whether similar conclusions can be drawn among the Chinese college gamer population, has not been verified. Moreover, although “Glory of Kings” is widely concerned and popular among college students, few scholars in China try to evaluate the positive impact of “Glory of Kings” on college students. The design and development of “Glory of Kings” have distinctive Chinese cultural characteristics, therefore, the choice of “Glory of Kings” as a carrier for the study has cultural significance. Secondly, the widespread usage of “Glory of Kings” among college students provides universality for the study. Third, since most of the existing studies are quantitative, qualitative research can enrich the existing research results, explore new experiences, and make relevant suggestions for higher education and family education. In conclusion, given the current popularity and influence of “Glory of Kings” in China, an in-depth study of Chinese college student players was conducted using it as a medium for qualitative research.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. participants.

A purposive sampling method was adopted to select college students who were “Glory of Kings” players from six universities or colleges in Zhejiang Province. Inclusion criteria: (1) college students; (2) playing the “Glory of Kings” game for more than 1 year; (3) have participated in the “Glory of Kings” game in the ranking tournament; and (4) informed consent and voluntary participation. Exclusion criteria: (1) college students suspended from school due to physical problems; (2) students who have a medical history of mental illness or psychiatric disorders and who were screened as having mental problems in the students’ general psychological test. The sample size was determined based on the principle of theoretical saturation. Interviews were conducted until reached theoretical saturation—that is, when the 18th participants did not provide new insights, and two more interviews were conducted to verify if new information would emerge. In the end, no new ideas were found to emerge making the sample size appropriate for this study. Among 23 students who were invited to participate, one student refused to participate due to lack of interest, and two persons were unable to participate due to time conflicts. Eventually, 20 college students (13 males and 7 females) were interviewed. Their ages ranged from 18 to 21 years, and their experience in playing the “Glory of Kings” game ranged from 2 to 6 years. The detailed information of participants is shown in Table 1 .

The basic information of the “Glory of Kings” player interviewees.

M, male; F, female. Years of playing “Glory of Kings” is calculated from the first time start playing the game.

2.2. Data collection

Participants were recruited in September 2021 with the assistance of the university’s gaming societies. The gaming societies presented the study recruitment information to members via social media. Participation was voluntary, and no incentive was offered for participation. The demographic information was collected before the interview, and the GPA information was collected at the beginning and end of the semester. The pilot-tested, semi-structured interviews were conducted using pre-determined, open-ended questions. The interviewers were conducted by two senior undergraduate students who had acquired knowledge of psychology, interpersonal communication, and qualitative research through relevant training prior to conducting this study. When conducting the interviews, they would follow a unified syllabus and agree on the follow-up questions. The interviews were conducted in a combination of online and offline formats. For participants located in Wenzhou City, interviews were conducted face-to-face in a meeting room at Wenzhou Medical University, where the environment was quiet and undisturbed. For participants located outside of Wenzhou City, online video interviews were conducted using social media. In addition to questions on demographic information, the interview syllabus was as follows:

• 1. Why do you play games?
• 2. How do you feel about being a player in the game of “Glory of Kings?”
• 3. What do you expect to gain from playing the game of “Glory of Kings?” And what do you actually gain from the game?
• 4. What is your experience with playing the game? And what experiences do you find enjoyable?
• 5. What are the best and worst things you think happen in the game?
• 6. What personal changes do you think have occurred after playing the game?
• 7. Is there anything else you would like to talk about on this topic?

All interviews were conducted at the time most convenient to the participants, and the interview schedule was determined 1 day in advance. Before the interview, participants were told about the procedures, such as how long the interview would last, the topics to be discussed, and permission to record the interview. Each interviewee lasted for approximately 30–40 min. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed within 24 h after the interview. Two researchers independently completed and checked transcription to reduce personal biases.

2.3. Data analysis

Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 ) and data were analyzed using qualitative analysis software NVivo 10. The steps were as follows: (1) transcript reading, preliminary coding, and note-taking; (2) developing final codes by reading and rereading the transcripts to identify patterns and themes; (3) developing a thematic mind map; (4) defining and naming themes and sub-themes, and (5) preparing the final report with an analysis of the selected fragments. Data were analyzed by two researchers to ensure reliability, when other researchers examined and validated the data, codes, and analyses by holding regular research team meetings. Textual information was discussed by the researchers several times until a consensus was reached. In addition, the results of the preliminary analysis were shared with the participants for their reviews and comments. The analysis was done in Chinese and the quotes were then translated into English and checked by a native translator who was not involved with the data collection (see Table 2 for an example of the process).

Thematic analysis of transcribed data from interviews with 20 people with the online game “Glory of Kings”.

Examples of meaning units, condensed meaning units, and subthemes and theme.

2.4. Ethical considerations

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Wenzhou Medical University (2022-028). This study complies with the Helsinki Declaration’s guidelines. After obtaining both verbal and written information about the study, the participants signed informed consent. Written informed consent was obtained from the individuals for the participation in this study and the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article, and the data was password-protected and encrypted. Each participant was assigned a coding reference, which referred to the participant’s number and gender (i.e., M3 refers to respondent 3, Male gender). During the interviews, the researchers treated the participants with respect, listened intently, and responded to their questions.

Three themes were identified from the data material, namely, meeting the college student’s personal growth, satisfying the social needs of college students, and promoting academic performance.

3.1. Meeting the need for personal growth

3.1.1. relieve stress and achieve happiness.

Online games, because of the characteristics of confrontation, entertainment and challenge, make it a way for college students to vent their emotions. Most interviewees believe that the fast pace of university brings them great study pressure. Also, college students of different grades report different sources of stress, such as pressure from parents, peers, academics, etc. However, no matter what kind of stress leads to negative emotions, they can be relieved through entertainment games. Following are typical quotes from gamers who said that the game can relieve negative emotions and bring positive feelings.

Game is not a necessity, but I would occasionally indulge in it. I like to live happily in virtual games (M5, 20-year-old).

When encounter troubles, I choose to play a few rounds of games. Although the pleasure brought by the game is temporary, it could fade away the troubles (M1, 20-year-old).

I went through a particularly bad period last semester… Later, I fell in love with “Glory of Kings,” and sometimes I even stayed up late to play games… However, when I was addicted to games temporarily, my pressure was released, which provides enough energy and enthusiasm to face difficulties (F7, 19-year-old).

3.1.2. Overcome the shortcomings and gain self-awareness

Due to the nature of “Glory of Kings,” it provides a platform for college students to fully enhance their consciousness. The characteristics of the five different roles in this game can also further prompt players to recognize their shortcomings and provide a reference for players to understand themselves. Players whose self-awareness is not clear enough get a clearer understanding through the game, and players whose self-perception is vague or even sometimes wrong get a chance to correct it. Following are typical quotes from gamers who have better self-awareness.

Gradually, I started to think about the reason, until I realized that I lacked a sense of the big picture and cooperation. Since then, I’ve made a conscious effort to work with my team on offense, which provides me with a better chance of victory. In life, I also recognized similar shortcomings and corrected them (F1, 19-year-old).

I prefer to play the role as an assassin, but I’m always not good at it. Later, my teammates suggested that I should be bolder and more adventurous. Under the guidance and practice, I gradually became proficient (M12, 18-year-old).

I am an untalkative person in life, but through playing games, I try to actively communicate with my teammates and gradually become more cheerful and good at communication (F4, 19-year-old).

3.1.3. Gain achievement and self-realization

Contrary to the harsh real society, the virtual game world demonstrates a new relatively equal social environment in its unique way and rich content. College students can explore multiple identities by experiencing multiple avatars or changing the appearance of avatars, thereby creating a virtual self-image that is sometimes compensatory and even restorative. Following are typical quotes from gamers who said that the game can bring them positive feelings.

I may be an ordinary person in life, but being a core character in games brings confidence (M1, 20-year-old).

In the virtual world of online games, college students can present themselves without the constraints of the single evaluation system of academic performance in real life. It provides the best arena for college students to gain achievement and fulfill their needs.

Sometimes I feel inferior because of my poor academic performance, and my classmates often treat me with colored glasses… Ranking as a king in the game, many players are willing to team up with me, which gives me a sense of accomplishment and brings back the confidence I lost in real life.

3.2. Satisfying the need for social life

3.2.1. broaden the social network.

College students can make friends around the world with common interests in the virtual world. The game’s forum provides the means to initiate a chat or team invitations to skilled players, as well as the option to team up with players in the same city. Through this avenue, strangers can converse with each other across geographical distances and blur cultural boundaries. Following are typical quotes from gamers who widened the breadth of interpersonal communication.

I spend most of my time playing games with my real friends, sometimes accepting game invitations from strangers and meeting skilled friends (F4, 19-year-old).

Because of the game, I met people of different ages and professions who taught me about game operations (M6, 19-year-old).

3.2.2. Increase social interaction

Online games offer everyone a convenient way to socialize and reduce social costs. The majority of participants reported that they would choose “Glory of Kings” as a common hobby to better integrate into the surrounding circle of friends. And some students will consciously take some compensatory actions against their friends who do not play games to maintain their friendship. Following are typical quotes from gamers who widened the breadth of interpersonal communication.

Playing games with unfamiliar individuals could quickly promote mutual understanding (F7, 19-year-old; M4, 21-year-old).

Playing games together can promote communication between roommates and increase common language (F2, 19-year-old).

I have a friend who does not play games and I tried to teach her to play but she refused. So I would study or eat with her after finishing the game time, and our relationship has always been tight (F5, 19-year-old).

3.2.3. Value teamwork

In the game “Glory of Kings,” college students work as a team to promote friendship and learn from each other’s strengths. Cooperation is necessary for the progress of this game, and there is also a respondent who says he has transformed from a solitary player to a competent collaborator. Every interviewee agreed that they preferred to work with the team and were willing to do their best to cooperate with their teammates when playing the game and even sacrifice for teammates when necessary. Following are typical quotes from gamers who enjoyed teamwork.

Sometimes I could not figure it out on my own, but a team could succeed (M1, 20-year-old).

I used to fight alone when I think that just be happy with myself. But gradually I fell in love with playing in team battles and was happy to cooperate with the team. Meanwhile, if I do not focus on team cooperation, there will be no communication in the game, and the road to promotion will be bumpy (M3, 19-year-old).

3.3. Promoting academic performance

3.3.1. improve learning ability.

The topic of academics was constantly mentioned and excavated in the interviews. The interviewees mentioned that online games helped them to master some transferable skills, such as problem-solving ability, quick thinking ability, etc. These abilities are usually trained unconsciously in games, and the player is able to experience the corresponding ability improvements in the real world when the match is over. Following are typical quotes from gamers who improved their ability to learn.

By studying the characters’ skill matching and line-ups in the game, my mind seemed to be more flexible and my problem-solving efficiency improved (M8, 18-year-old).

In order to improve my game skills, I watched the live video of the game host and learned their skills. As time passed, I found it easier to follow the teacher’s explanation in class while I could not keep up with the teacher’s quick thinking before (F2, 19-year-old).

3.3.2. Increase interest in learning

The combination of abstract and complex knowledge with online games can change the current passive input education model and make students more interested and effective in learning. Following are typical quotes from gamers who said that they could accept the teaching content more effectively in the process of playing games.

The teacher introduced the historical relationships between different characters using the heroic characters from “Glory of Kings,” which suddenly made a sleepy history lesson come to life (F2, 19-year-old).

Some interviewees also proposed that combining the virtual currency obtained in the game with the correct rate of answering questions in the virtual classroom of college students can improve students’ classroom performance. Following are typical quotes from gamers who proposed that the mechanics of the game can be realized in the real world.

Using this way of learning can motivate me to arrange my online game time rationally, reduce my dependence on online games and enjoy studying more (F6, 20-year-old).

4. Discussion

This study examines whether “Glory of Kings” has a positive impact on college students. The qualitative nature of this study allows players to fully articulate specific aspects of their perspectives and allows researchers to analyze their views and attitudes in depth.

4.1. The impact on personal growth

Most participants in our study believe that the pressure in their university life can be relieved through online games which are consistent with the findings of Ari et al. (2020) . The pressure from various aspects, such as academics, family, and social lives, as well as the confusion about the future, bring contemporary college students under more psychological pressure. Online games make it a way for college students to escape from reality and vent their suppressed emotions, and some students also accompany the relief method of verbal catharsis in the process. These findings are similar to those of Pine et al. (2020) that college students enjoy the happiness that accompanies the release of stress when gaming.

College students are in an important period of strengthening their self-consciousness system. As a medium, “Glory of Kings” provides players with a competitive platform whose ultimate goal is victory. In order to continue to win, players need to constantly reflect and summarize ( Kow, 2017 ). Larsen (2020) proposed seven aspects of the skill theory framework to guide players to improve their skill level in the game. Therefore, players can correspond to the theoretical framework and reflect on their shortcomings and deficiencies. By having the opportunity to overcome shortcomings and reflect on themselves in the game world, ultimately a clearer self-awareness can be projected and benefit the player in the real world.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the ultimate human need is self-actualization. Likewise, college students need to be respected and expect to gain achievement ( Zhong and Yao, 2013 ). Liao et al. (2017) proposed that people will form virtual personalities on the Internet through self-remodeling, while virtual personalities are often different from the real world. In real life, the differences in economic conditions, living areas, material conditions, status, and the increasingly fierce competition environment often limit college students’ achievement experience. In online games, the boundary between physical reality and virtual reality will be blurred by more personalized and immersive environments ( Young, 2009 ; Soutter and Hitchens, 2016 ; Kuo et al., 2017 ), resulting in a convenient way for college students to get achievements. Like the ordinary student M8, he was appreciated by others for his superb gaming skills. In conclusion, achieving self-worth and reaching potential are the goals to meet the need for self-actualization ( Liao et al., 2017 ).

4.2. The impact on interpersonal communication

In the case of “Glory of Kings,” which is a confrontation that unfolds by grouping, the system offers both the opportunity to form teams on one’s own and the option of random matching. Online games try to expand player interactivity and social friendships in the setting of game rules to attract more players, which coincides with the needs of college students to interact with people ( Ducheneaut and Moore, 2004 ). Linked to the trait of awakened autonomy among college students, they will establish emotional communication with like-minded friends they meet in “Glory of Kings,” and will also subjectively choose whom to team up with, which may be teammates they meet through the game or friends in the real world. The game provides a more comfortable communication platform for strangers in real life, thus widening the breadth of interpersonal communication.

Most of the participants in this research also tend to play “Glory of Kings” with their friends. According to the study by Croes and Antheunis (2021) , people’s intimacy is directly proportional to the frequency of interaction. Consistent with the conclusion of Lai and Fung (2019) , college students will not alienate their friends and feel lonely because of excessive investment in playing games. On the contrary, the emotions and experiences shared in the virtual game world can strengthen the bond between them ( Granic et al., 2014 ). College students can fight side by side with their friends in the gaming world, and discuss gaming skills together offline. The game does not destroy or isolate their relationships. On the contrary, the tacit cooperation and communication between players in the game make the relationship closer.

Most of our participants recognize that they liked the teamwork model of “Glory of Kings.” Consist to the study by Chen and Chang (2020) , a MOBA mobile game, it simulates a real-world situation in which temporary teams of strangers complete complex tasks in a short period. It can provide players with a unique platform for teamwork in such scenarios where social relationships need to be established quickly. It is further suggested in the study of Ewoldsen et al. (2012) that this can increase pro-social behaviors outside of the game environment, such as social and civic activities. It follows that teams derive satisfaction from existence, which is part of the meaning of collective effort. Choosing the group and cooperating to reach the same goals is precisely what is essential in real life as well.

4.3. The impact on academic performance

Contrary to conventional beliefs that playing games is intellectually lazy and sedating, playing games is shown to promote a wide range of cognitive skills ( Granic et al., 2014 ). Compared with non-gamers, gamers show faster and more accurate attention allocation, and higher spatial resolution enhanced mental rotation in visual processing, these skills are transferred to other spatial tasks outside the game context ( Green and Bavelier, 2012 ). In addition, scholars speculate that problem-solving skills can also be developed. On the whole, there are many good principles of learning built into good online games ( Adachi and Willoughby, 2013 ), which could be applied to school learning tomorrow.

For this generation that grows up with the Internet, online games are an integral medium of communication and learning and have great potential for schools and workplaces to increase engagement, creativity and lifelong learning skills ( Gee, 2003 ; Turkay and Adinolf, 2012 ; Granic et al., 2014 ). From the existing overall analysis results, the condition of the online games has more positive learning effect than traditional teaching condition. In addition to improving learning and memory ( Sitzmann, 2011 ; Wouters et al., 2013 ), online gameplay has the potential to motivate individuals to participate in educational settings to improve students’ interest in learning ( Clark et al., 2016 ).

4.4. Suggestions for parents and college management

By considering both the negative effects and potential benefits of the existence of games, many scholars proposed some balanced perspectives on the use of games for real-world personal growth with the intervention and supervision of a third party. The influence of the family is a pivotal factor, as it contributes significantly to the socialization of adolescents ( Liu et al., 2015 ). Parental regulation through restrictive mediation or conversational mediation in adolescents’ gaming is one important factor that may limit adolescents’ gaming behavior ( Colasante et al., 2022 ).

On the other hand, it is unscientific for parents to blindly prohibit their children from online games ( Chen et al., 2020 ). More and more parents accept the Internet and games as valuable learning tools ( Willoughby, 2008 ). Those parents help children become consumers to judge the advantages of games, plan a variety of leisure activities, mediate violent temptation games, and help children find the meaning of online games through positive communication ( Chiu et al., 2004 ). Indeed, co-playing games with parents are associated with heightened prosocial behavior for girls ( Coyne et al., 2011 ). In addition, researchers suggest that adolescents who receive the correct family education for the online game may learn ways to meet basic needs and self-control ( Griffiths and Meredith, 2009 ; Liu et al., 2015 ; Chen et al., 2020 ). Parents should create a harmonious family atmosphere by continuously improving their parenting skills and building close relationships with their children, which is in line with the suggestions of Chiu et al. (2004) . Meanwhile, parents should keep in touch with teachers to understand their children’s confusion as well as their use of the Internet at school to actively cooperate with the school’s policies.

Schools are digital education providers and prevention centers. Our results suggested that educators can take advantage of game-based education to facilitate problem-solving ability and to increase the study interests of college students ( Whitton and MacLure, 2017 ). Moreover, universities or colleges can use online games as a potentially useful and beneficial educational tool to promote students’ positive emotions. For example, a school in Seoul, South Korea, set up an online game course that covers the humanities of games, game terminology, game manipulation, Q&A with professional players, and game science to positively impact students at different grades and schools in public education sites ( Choi and Bang, 2021 ).

Many colleges and universities in China nowadays create electronic competitive social organizations and used network games in their daily teaching, not only to enrich students’ extracurricular life, but also to provide a platform for college students to find like-minded friends to play online games reasonably. Furthermore, some universities or colleges combine health education of online games with ideological and political work and try to establish college students’ mental profiles to understand their overall psychological conditions when they are playing online games. More strategies are needed to maximize the positive impact of online games on college students and help them grow healthily.

5. Implication

Despite the negative perception of online games in the Chinese cultural context, our study re-examines the impact of online games from the gamer’s perspective. To a certain extent, online games meet the personalized requirements of college students’ personal growth in Chinese collectivist culture, realize the need for the social interaction satisfaction, and enhance creativity in learning ( Chen and Chang, 2020 ). The higher education nowadays should more scientifically guide teachers and parents to change their attitudes toward online games and recognize the benefits of online games ( Whitton and MacLure, 2017 ). Meanwhile, the advantages of online games can be exploited to benefit more students by promoting their problem-solving ability through game-based education, contributing to more productive physical and mental health and learning ( Granic et al., 2014 ).

6. Limitation

Although this study shows that “Glory of Kings” has a positive impact on contemporary college students, it should be noted that the data are cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are still needed to confirm the long-term impact of “Glory of Kings” on college students. Secondly, the data is only derived from the feedback that respondents actively self-reported, which means that there may be some hidden part of the self-reflection content of respondents. Thirdly, relevant quantitative studies can be carried out to further verify and analyze the results of this study.

7. Conclusion

In this study, it is found that meeting the need for personal growth, satisfying the need for social life and promoting academic performance are the main positive effects of playing online games. Some suggestions that enhance the supportive role of online games are structured for family and college education.

Data availability statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Wenzhou Medical University (2022-028). Written informed consent was obtained from the individual for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author contributions

FL and DZ contributed to the conceptualization and writing—original draft. SW was in charge of the data collection and analysis. RZ assisted in data collation and analysis as well as literature search. CD and JZ contributed to the writing, reviewing, and editing. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express gratitude to the colleagues who offered constructive and illuminating feedback, and to Guohua Zhang and Bingling Xia, who helped shape earlier versions of this article with their comments.

Funding Statement

This research was supported by the Wenzhou Science and Technology Bureau Project (R20220086) and Zhejiang Province Curriculum Ideological and Political Education Research Project.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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The Impact of Online Games on Student Academic Performance

21 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2023

Beimbet Beibit

Nazarbayev Intellectual School

Date Written: May 12, 2023

Online video gaming has become a popular leisure activity among students, but concerns have been raised about its potential impact on academic performance. While some argue that video games can enhance cognitive skills, others claim that excessive gaming can lead to poor academic performance and even addiction. This research aims to investigate the influence of online video gaming on the academic performance of students. The study will examine the relationship between online gaming and academic performance, as well as factors that may moderate this relationship, such as the days of gaming sessions, gender, and academic performance. A survey was conducted among a sample of students from NIS school(73 participants), to collect data on their gaming habits and academic performance. The data collected will be analyzed using statistical methods to determine whether there is a significant correlation between online gaming and academic performance. The findings of this study can be used to inform educational policy and practice, and to promote healthy gaming habits among students.

Keywords: video games, academic performance, addiction, influence

JEL Classification: I

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Beimbet Beibit (Contact Author)

Nazarbayev intellectual school ( email ), do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on ssrn, paper statistics.

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• Published: 10 December 2020

Effect of internet use and electronic game-play on academic performance of Australian children

• Md Irteja Islam 1 , 2 ,
• Raaj Kishore Biswas 3 &
• Rasheda Khanam 1  

Scientific Reports volume  10 , Article number:  21727 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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This study examined the association of internet use, and electronic game-play with academic performance respectively on weekdays and weekends in Australian children. It also assessed whether addiction tendency to internet and game-play is associated with academic performance. Overall, 1704 children of 11–17-year-olds from young minds matter (YMM), a cross-sectional nationwide survey, were analysed. The generalized linear regression models adjusted for survey weights were applied to investigate the association between internet use, and electronic-gaming with academic performance (measured by NAPLAN–National standard score). About 70% of the sample spent > 2 h/day using the internet and nearly 30% played electronic-games for > 2 h/day. Internet users during weekdays (> 4 h/day) were less likely to get higher scores in reading and numeracy, and internet use on weekends (> 2–4 h/day) was positively associated with academic performance. In contrast, 16% of electronic gamers were more likely to get better reading scores on weekdays compared to those who did not. Addiction tendency to internet and electronic-gaming is found to be adversely associated with academic achievement. Further, results indicated the need for parental monitoring and/or self-regulation to limit the timing and duration of internet use/electronic-gaming to overcome the detrimental effects of internet use and electronic game-play on academic achievement.

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Introduction.

Over the past two decades, with the proliferation of high-tech devices (e.g. Smartphone, tablets and computers), both the internet and electronic games have become increasingly popular with people of all ages, but particularly with children and adolescents 1 , 2 , 3 . Recent estimates have shown that one in three under-18-year-olds across the world uses the Internet, and 75% of adolescents play electronic games daily in developed countries 4 , 5 , 6 . Studies in the United States reported that adolescents are occupied with over 11 h a day with modern electronic media such as computer/Internet and electronic games, which is more than they spend in school or with friends 7 , 8 . In Australia, it is reported that about 98% of children aged 15–17 years are among Internet users and 98% of adolescents play electronic games, which is significantly higher than the USA and Europe 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 .

In recent times, the Internet and electronic games have been regarded as important, not just for better results at school, but also for self-expression, sociability, creativity and entertainment for children and adolescents 13 , 14 . For instance, 88% of 12–17 year-olds in the USA considered the Internet as a useful mechanism for making progress in school 15 , and similarly, electronic gaming in children and adolescents may assist in developing skills such as decision-making, smart-thinking and coordination 3 , 15 .

On the other hand, evidence points to the fact that the use of the Internet and electronic games is found to have detrimental effects such as reduced sleeping time, behavioural problems (e.g. low self-esteem, anxiety, depression), attention problems and poor academic performance in adolescents 1 , 5 , 12 , 16 . In addition, excessive Internet usage and increased electronic gaming are found to be addictive and may cause serious functional impairment in the daily life of children and adolescents 1 , 12 , 13 , 16 . For example, the AU Kids Online survey 17 reported that 50% of Australian children were more likely to experience behavioural problems associated with Internet use compared to children from 25 European countries (29%) surveyed in the EU Kids Online study 18 , which is alarming 12 . These mixed results require an urgent need of understanding the effect of the Internet use and electronic gaming on the development of children and adolescents, particularly on their academic performance.

Despite many international studies and a smaller number in Australia 12 , several systematic limitations remain in the existing literature, particularly regarding the association of academic performance with the use of Internet and electronic games in children and adolescents 13 , 16 , 19 . First, the majority of the earlier studies have either relied on school grades or children’s self assessments—which contain an innate subjectivity by the assessor; and have not considered the standardized tests of academic performance 16 , 20 , 21 , 22 . Second, most previous studies have tested the hypothesis in the school-based settings instead of canvassing the whole community, and cannot therefore adjust for sociodemographic confounders 9 , 16 . Third, most studies have been typically limited to smaller sample sizes, which might have reduced the reliability of the results 9 , 16 , 23 .

By considering these issues, this study aimed to investigate the association of internet usage and electronic gaming on a standardized test of academic performance—NAPLAN (The National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy) among Australian adolescents aged 11–17 years using nationally representative data from the Second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing—Young Minds Matter (YMM). It is hypothesized that the findings of this study will provide a population-wide, contextual view of excessive Internet use and electronic games played separately on weekdays and weekends by Australian adolescents, which may be beneficial for evidence-based policies.

Subject demographics

Respondents who attended gave NAPLAN in 2008 (N = 4) and 2009 (N = 29) were removed from the sample due to smaller sample size, as later years (2010–2015) had over 100 samples yearly. The NAPLAN scores from 2008 might not align with a survey conducted in 2013. Further missing cases were deleted with the assumption that data were missing at random for unbiased estimates, which is common for large-scale surveys 24 . From the initial survey of 2967 samples, 1704 adolescents were sampled for this study.

The sample characteristics were displayed in Table 1 . For example, distribution of daily average internet use was checked, showing that over 50% of the sampled adolescents spent 2–4 h on internet (Table 1 ). Although all respondents in the survey used internet, nearly 21% of them did not play any electronic games in a day and almost one in every three (33%) adolescents played electronic games beyond the recommended time of 2 h per day. Girls had more addictive tendency to internet/game-play in compare to boys.

The mean scores for the three NAPLAN tests scores (reading, writing and numeracy) ranged from 520 to 600. A gradual decline in average NAPLAN tests scores (reading, writing and numeracy) scores were observed for internet use over 4 h during weekdays, and over 3 h during weekends (Table 2 ). Table 2 also shows that adolescents who played no electronic games at all have better scores in writing compared to those who play electronic games. Moreover, Table 2 shows no particular pattern between time spent on gaming and NAPLAN reading and numeracy scores. Among the survey samples, 308 adolescents were below the national standard average.

Internet use and academic performance

Our results show that internet (non-academic use) use during weekdays, especially more than 4 h, is negatively associated with academic performance (Table 3 ). For internet use during weekdays, all three models showed a significant negative association between time spent on internet and NAPLAN reading and numeracy scores. For example, in Model 1, adolescents who spent over 4 h on internet during weekdays are 15% and 17% less likely to get higher reading and numeracy scores respectively compared to those who spend less than 2 h. Similar results were found in Model 2 and 3 (Table 3 ), when we adjusted other confounders. The variable addiction tendency to internet was found to be negatively associated with NAPLAN results. The adolescents who had internet addiction were 17% less and 14% less likely to score higher in reading and numeracy respectively than those without such problematic behaviour.

Internet use during weekends showed a positive association with academic performance (Table 4 ). For example, Model 1 in Table 4 shows that internet use during weekends was significant for reading, writing and national standard scores. Youths who spend around 2–4 h and over 4 h on the internet during weekends were 21% and 15% more likely to get a higher reading scores respectively compared to those who spend less than 2 h (Model 1, Table 4 ). Similarly, in model 3, where the internet addiction of adolescents was adjusted, adolescents who spent 2–4 h on internet were 1.59 times more likely to score above the national standard. All three models of Table 4 confirmed that adolescents who spent 2–4 h on the internet during weekends are more likely to achieve better reading and writing scores and be at or above national standard compared to those who used the internet for less than 2 h. Numeracy scores were unlikely to be affected by internet use. The results obtained from Model 3 should be treated as robust, as this is the most comprehensive model that accounts for unobserved characteristics. The addiction tendency to internet/game-play variable showed a negative association with academic performance, but this is only significant for numeracy scores.

Electronic gaming and academic performance

Time spent on electronic gaming during weekdays had no effect on the academic performance of writing and language but had significant association with reading scores (Model 2, Table 5 ). Model 2 of Table 5 shows that adolescents who spent 1–2 h on gaming during weekdays were 13% more likely to get higher reading scores compared to those who did not play at all. It was an interesting result that while electronic gaming during weekdays tended to show a positive effect on reading scores, internet use during weekdays showed a negative effect. Addiction tendency to internet/game-play had a negative effect; the adolescents who were addicted to the internet were 14% less likely to score more highly in reading than those without any such behaviour.

All three models from Table 6 confirm that time spent on electronic gaming over 2 h during weekends had a positive effect on readings scores. For example, the results of Model 3 (Table 6 ) showed that adolescents who spent more than 2 h on electronic gaming during weekdays were 16% more likely to have better reading scores compared to adolescents who did not play games at all. Playing electronic games during weekends was not found to be statistically significant for writing and numeracy scores and national standard scores, although the odds ratios were positive. The results from all tables confirm that addiction tendency to internet/gaming is negatively associated with academic performance, although the variable is not always statistically significant.

Building on past research on the effect of the internet use and electronic gaming in adolescents, this study examined whether Internet use and playing electronic games were associated with academic performance (i.e. reading, writing and numeracy) using a standardized test of academic performance (i.e. NAPLAN) in a nationally representative dataset in Australia. The findings of this study question the conventional belief 9 , 25 that academic performance is negatively associated with internet use and electronic games, particularly when the internet is used for non-academic purpose.

In the current hi-tech world, many developed countries (e.g. the USA, Canada and Australia) have recommended that 5–17 year-olds limit electronic media (e.g. internet, electronic games) to 2 h per day for entertainment purposes, with concerns about the possible negative consequences of excessive use of electronic media 14 , 26 . However, previous research has often reported that children and adolescents spent more than the recommended time 26 . The present study also found similar results, that is, that about 70% of the sampled adolescents aged 11–17 spent more than 2 h per day on the Internet and nearly 30% spent more than 2-h on electronic gaming in a day. This could be attributed to the increased availability of computers/smart-phones and the internet among under-18s 12 . For instance, 97% of Australian households with children aged less than 15 years accessed internet at home in 2016–2017 10 ; as a result, policymakers recommended that parents restrict access to screens (e.g. Internet and electronic games) in children’s bedrooms, monitor children using screens, share screen hours with their children, and to act as role models by reducing their own screen time 14 .

This research has drawn attention to the fact that the average time spent using the internet, which is often more than 4 h during weekdays tends to be negatively associated with academic performance, especially a lower reading and numeracy score, while internet use of more than 2 h during weekends is positively associated with academic performance, particularly having a better reading and writing score and above national standard score. By dividing internet use and gaming by weekdays and weekends, this study find an answer to the mixed evidence found in previous literature 9 . The results of this study clearly show that the non-academic use of internet during weekdays, particularly, spending more than 4 h on internet is harmful for academic performance, whereas, internet use on the weekends is likely to incur a positive effect on academic performance. This result is consistent with a USA study that reported that internet use is positively associated with improved reading skills and higher scores on standardized tests 13 , 27 . It is also reported in the literature that academic performance is better among moderate users of the internet compared to non-users or high level users 13 , 27 , which was in line with the findings of this study. This may be due to the fact that the internet is predominantly a text-based format in which the internet users need to type and read to access most websites effectively 13 . The results of this study indicated that internet use is not harmful to academic performance if it is used moderately, especially, if ensuring very limited use on weekdays. The results of this study further confirmed that timing (weekdays or weekends) of internet use is a factor that needs to be considered.

Regarding electronic gaming, interestingly, the study found that the average time of gaming either in weekdays or weekends is positively associated with academic performance especially for reading scores. These results contradicted previous literatures 1 , 13 , 19 , 27 that have reported negative correlation between electronic games and educational performance in high-school children. The results of this study were consistent with studies conducted in the USA, Europe and other countries that claimed a positive correlation between gaming and academic performance, especially in numeracy and reading skills 28 , 29 . This is may be due to the fact that the instructions for playing most of the electronic games are text-heavy and many electronic games require gamers to solve puzzles 9 , 30 . The literature also found that playing electronic games develops cognitive skills (e.g. mental rotation abilities, dexterity), which can be attributable to better academic achievement 31 , 32 .

Consistent with previous research findings 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , the study also found that adolescents who had addiction tendency to internet usage and/or electronic gaming were less likely to achieve higher scores in reading and numeracy compared to those who had not problematic behaviour. Addiction tendency to Internet/gaming among adolescents was found to be negatively associated with overall academic performance compared to those who were not having addiction tendency, although the variables were not always statistically significant. This is mainly because adolescents’ skipped school and missed classes and tuitions, and provide less effort to do homework due to addictive internet usage and electronic gaming 19 , 35 . The results of this study indicated that parental monitoring and/ or self-regulation (by the users) regarding the timing and intensity of internet use/gaming are essential to outweigh any negative effect of internet use and gaming on academic performance.

Although the present study uses a large nationally representative sample and advances prior research on the academic performance among adolescents who reported using the internet and playing electronic games, the findings of this study also have some limitations that need to be addressed. Firstly, adolescents who reported on the internet use and electronic games relied on self-reported child data without any screening tests or any external validation and thus, results may be overestimated or underestimated. Second, the study primarily addresses the internet use and electronic games as distinct behaviours, as the YMM survey gathered information only on the amount of time spent on internet use and electronic gaming, and included only a few questions related to addiction due to resources and time constraints and did not provide enough information to medically diagnose internet/gaming addiction. Finally, the cross-sectional research design of the data outlawed evaluation of causality and temporality of the observed association of internet use and electronic gaming with the academic performance in adolescents.

This study found that the average time spent on the internet on weekends and electronic gaming (both in weekdays and weekends) is positively associated with academic performance (measured by NAPLAN) of Australian adolescents. However, it confirmed a negative association between addiction tendency (internet use or electronic gaming) and academic performance; nonetheless, most of the adolescents used the internet and played electronic games more than the recommended 2-h limit per day. The study also revealed that further research is required on the development and implementation of interventions aimed at improving parental monitoring and fostering users’ self-regulation to restrict the daily usage of the internet and/or electronic games.

Data description

Young minds matter (YMM) was an Australian nationwide cross-sectional survey, on children aged 4–17 years conducted in 2013–2014 37 . Out of the initial 76,606 households approached, a total of 6,310 parents/caregivers (eligible household response rate 55%) of 4–17 year-old children completed a structured questionnaire via face to face interview and 2967 children aged 11–17 years (eligible children response rate 89%) completed a computer-based self-reported questionnaire privately at home 37 .

Area based sampling was used for the survey. A total of 225 Statistical Area 1 (defined by Australian Bureau of Statistics) areas were selected based on the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. They were stratified by state/territory and by metropolitan versus non-metropolitan (rural/regional) to ensure proportional representation of geographic areas across Australia 38 . However, a small number of samples were excluded, based on most remote areas, homeless children, institutional care and children living in households where interviews could not be conducted in English. The details of the survey and methodology used in the survey can be found in Lawrence et al. 37 .

Following informed consent (both written and verbal) from the primary carers (parents/caregivers), information on the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) of the children and adolescents were also added to the YMM dataset. The YMM survey is ethically approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Western Australia and by the Australian Government Department of Health. In addition, the authors of this study obtained a written approval from Australian Data Archive (ADA) Dataverse to access the YMM dataset. All the researches were done in accordance with relevant ADA Dataverse guidelines and policy/regulations in using YMM datasets.

Outcome variables

The NAPLAN, conducted annually since 2008, is a nationwide standardized test of academic performance for all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 to assess their skills in reading, writing numeracy, grammar and spelling 39 , 40 . NAPLAN scores from 2010 to 2015, reported by YMM, were used as outcome variables in the models; while NAPLAN data of 2008 (N = 4) and 2009 (N = 29) were excluded for this study in order to reduce the time lag between YMM survey and the NAPLAN test. The NAPLAN gives point-in-time standardized scores, which provide the scope to compare children’s academic performance over time 40 , 41 . The NAPLAN tests are one component of the evaluation and grading phase of each school, and do not substitute for the comprehensive, consistent evaluations provided by teachers on the performance of each student 39 , 41 . All four domains—reading, writing, numeracy and language conventions (grammar and spelling) are in continuous scales in the dataset. The scores are given based on a series of tests; details can be found in 42 . The current study uses only reading, writing and numeracy scores to measure academic performance.

In this study, the National standard score is a combination of three variables: whether the student meets the national standard in reading, writing and numeracy. Based on national average score, a binary outcome variable is also generated. One category is ‘below standard’ if a child scores at least one standard deviation (one below scores) from the national standard in reading, writing and numeracy, and the rest is ‘at/above standard’.

Independent variables

Internet use and electronic gaming.

In the YMM survey, owing to the scope of the survey itself, an extensive set of questions about internet usage and electronic gaming could not be included. Internet usage omitted the time spent in academic purposes and/or related activities. Playing electronic games included playing games on a gaming console (e.g. PlayStation, Xbox, or similar console ) online or using a computer, or mobile phone, or a handled device 12 . The primary independent covariates were average internet use per day and average electronic game-play in hours per day. A combination of hours on weekdays and weekends was separately used in the models. These variables were based on a self-assessed questionnaire where the youths were asked questions regarding daily time spent on the Internet and electronic game-play, specifically on either weekends or weekdays. Since, internet use/game-play for a maximum of 2 h/day is recommended for children and adolescents aged between 5 and 17 years in many developed countries including Australia 14 , 26 ; therefore, to be consistent with the recommended time we preferred to categorize both the time variables of internet use and gaming into three groups with an interval of 2 h each. Internet use was categorized into three groups: (a) ≤ 2 h), (b) 2–4 h, and (c) > 4 h. Similar questions were asked for game-play h. The sample distribution for electronic game-play was skewed; therefore, this variable was categorized into three groups: (a) no game-play (0 h), (b) 1–2 h, and (c) > 2 h.

Other covariates

Family structure and several sociodemographic variables were used in the models to adjust for the differences in individual characteristics, parental inputs and tastes, household characteristics and place of residence. Individual characteristics included age (continuous) and sex of the child (boys, girls) and addiction tendency to internet use and/or game-play of the adolescent. Addiction tendency to internet/game-play was a binary independent variable. It was a combination of five behavioural questions relating to: whether the respondent avoided eating/sleeping due to internet use or game-play; feels bothered when s/he cannot access internet or play electronic games; keeps using internet or playing electronic games even when s/he is not really interested; spends less time with family/friends or on school works due to internet use or game-play; and unsuccessfully tries to spend less time on the internet or playing electronic games. There were four options for each question: never/almost never; not very often; fairly often; and very often. A binary covariate was simulated, where if any four out of five behaviours were reported as for example, fairly often or very often, then it was considered that the respondent had addictive tendency.

Household characteristics included household income (low, medium, high), family type (original, step, blended, sole parent/primary carer, other) 43 and remoteness (major cities, inner regional, outer regional, remote/very remote). Parental inputs and taste included education of primary carer (bachelor, diploma, year 10/11), primary carer’s likelihood of serious mental illness (K6 score -likely; not likely); primary carer’s smoking status (no, yes); and risk of alcoholic related harm by the primary carer (risky, none).

Statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics of the sample and distributions of the outcome variables were initially assessed. Based on these distributions, the categorization of outcome variables was conducted, as mentioned above. For formal analysis, generalized linear regression models (GLMs) 44 were used, adjusting for the survey weights, which allowed for generalization of the findings. As NAPLAN scores of three areas—reading, writing and numeracy—were continuous variables, linear models were fitted to daily average internet time and electronic game play time. The scores were standardized (mean = 0, SD = 1) for model fitness. The binary logistic model was fitted for the dichotomized national standard outcome variable. Separate models were estimated for internet and electronic gaming on weekends and weekdays.

We estimated three different models, where models varied based on covariates used to adjust the GLMs. Model 1 was adjusted for common sociodemographic factors including age and sex of the child, household income, education of primary carer’s and family type 43 . However, the results of this model did not account for some unobserved household characteristics (e.g. taste, preferences) that are unobserved to the researcher and are arguably correlated with potential outcomes. The effects of unobserved characteristics were reduced by using a comprehensive set of observable characteristics 45 , 46 that were available in YMM data. The issue of unobserved characteristics was addressed by estimating two additional models that include variables by including household characteristics such as parental taste, preference and inputs, and child characteristics in the model. In addition to the variables in Model 1, Model 2 included remoteness, primary carer’s mental health status, smoking status and risk of alcoholic related harm by the primary carer. Model 3 further included internet/game addiction of the adolescent in addition to all the covariates in Model 2. Model 3 was expected to account for a child’s level of unobserved characteristics as the children who were addicted to internet/games were different from others. The model will further show how academic performance is affected by internet/game addiction. The correlation among the variables ‘internet/game addiction’ and ‘internet use’ and ‘gaming’ (during weekdays and weekends) were also assessed, and they were less than 0.5. Multicollinearity was assessed using the variance inflation factor (VIF), which was under 5 for all models, suggesting no multicollinearity 47 .

p value below the threshold of 0.05 was considered the threshold of significance. All analysis was conducted in R (version 3.6.1). R-package survey (version 3.37) was used for modelling which is suited for complex survey samples 48 .

Data availability

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the University of Western Australia, Roy Morgan Research, the Australian Government Department of Health for conducting the survey, and the Australian Data Archive for giving access to the YMM survey dataset. The authors also would like to thank Dr Barbara Harmes for proofreading the manuscript.

This research did not receive any specific Grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Islam, M.I., Biswas, R.K. & Khanam, R. Effect of internet use and electronic game-play on academic performance of Australian children. Sci Rep 10 , 21727 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78916-9

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Pupils rated agree on the indicators that interactive games improve their logical thinking and reasoning; help them to become more computer literate; and creative; keep from getting bored until their friends are available to play and make new friends as well as strengthening their relationships with old friends. The pupils think that playing computer games is a positive experience to them and not a negative experience like their teachers, parents and other role models seem to believe. On study habits, the majority of the pupils studied their lessons on an average of 0-1 hour a day. On teachers’ perception on pupils’ behavior, the teacher-respondents agreed that playing computer manifests better computer skills and knowledge of facts, exhibits motor skills and hand-eye coordination and gain other skills, enhances creativity and inculcates a taste for graphics, and design and technology. However, it also manifests aggressive behaviors such as gets in many fights, cruelty, bullying, or meanness to others, doesn’t seem to feel guilty after misbehaving; develops attention problems like daydreaming (getting lost in thought and staring blankly); exhibits a decline in school achievements(repeated low grade, poor school work). On academic performance by subject, the pupil-respondents generally received a fair (80-84) to good (85-89) rating. Thus, their rating means that playing computer games do not have significant effect on their academic performance. However, there is an impact on their behaviour based on various researches. It was noted that English and Mathematics have no significant difference in the academic performance of the pupil-respondents in relation to hours spent in playing computer games. The result showed that thirty-seven percent explains the variation of the pupils’ academic performance which is due to playing computer games while sixty-three percent went to other factors that affect their performance in school. However, Science subjects showed significance on their academic performance. Perhaps, this subject requires a higher level of thinking skills. Some factors can be considered why these pupils did not perform in the said subject due to pupils’ study habits, attitudes towards the subject, thinking skills, peer and media influences. From the results and conclusions, it is recommended that the policy maker and school administrators will intensify the integration of Information Technology in the existing curriculum, improve lesson plan making using the computer –aided instructions (CAI) and provide more trainings/ seminars/ workshops/ to teachers that will equip them with IT skills. Lastly, design a Homeroom Guidance (HG) Activity on the effect of playing of computer games in their life.

San Jose National High School, Malilipot, Albay

Cybil D Lumabad

Abstract Computer games are kinds of making motivate experience to play from students. They are called online, mobile, offline, and mini games were played. It cause to addiction when must be exposed to playing. They are effected to family, financial, health, academic performance, and peers/friends when use excessively. This research aims to know the effects of Computer Games to Selected Information and Communications Technology (ICT)Students in San Jose National High School. There are 68 C.S.S. students, 39 from Grade 11 and 29 from Grade 12 were identified to be engaged in computer gaming, and all of them will serve as respondents. The instrument use is modified questionnaire-checklist will serve as the primary data gathering tool. The data gathering procedure following are steps in data gathering. The effects of computer games are mostly negative effects on lack of bonding for family, lack of allowance for financial condition, and failing of grades & sleepy for academic performance. On the other hands, the positive effect of computer games is competing for peers/friends. The result of their study could be used by the researchers to plan future studies around playing computer games.

Mariane Sampan

Ammar Ihsan Nasution

There are many factors that correlated with students' academic performance. Some people believe that video game is one of the factors that affect students’ academic performance negatively. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between video games and student academic performance among male and female students of IIUM. A questionnaire was used to collect data about students' gaming frequency and students' academic performance. 30 students were selected randomly from each kulliyyah as the sample of the study. The result of the research indicated that there is no relationship between video games and students’ academic performance of IIUM University. From this findings, it can be concluded that being non-gamer does not guarantee a student to have high academic performance. In contrast, being frequent gamer also does not guarantee student to perform bad in academic. There are many factors that correlated with academic performance other than video games

lyra honrado

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Online Gaming Essay | Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Gaming

Online gaming is the most talked about fun topic among the teenagers of the 21st century. At the same time, it is the most talked about serious topic among the parents and teachers. Everyone has their own reasons to discuss online gaming. Our reason today is to help you write an Essay on Online Gaming so that you are exposed to the unseen side of online gaming addiction.

Long Essay on Online Gaming Addiction in 500 words | Argumentative Essay on Online Games Good or Bad

How online gaming started.

The Internet has changed the way we live, we eat, we dress, we work and we play. It has become a preferred and comfortable mode which has made our lives way too easy. Today almost everything is available at the click of a button. You ask for a thing and it reaches your doorstep within days. Amidst these gratifying moments, when we are saved from the daily hustle-bustle, another trend of online gaming has emerged. 

Advantages of Online Games

Online gaming is a huge platform today. A platform that has broken all barriers and boundaries amidst countries around the world. In online gaming, you can connect to anyone anywhere in the world and play. Sometimes you don’t even know with whom you are playing and this mystery makes the experience even more thrilling. It also gives the player an opportunity to make new friends from other countries and get a chance to showcase their talent worldwide.

Nowadays, many online gaming championships are organized where gamers get a platform to compete with the best of the best and enhance their skills. It has gained much popularity over the years because one can play an online game on even a basic smartphone. What one requires is a consistent internet connection. Developing, designing and marketing online games has turned into a full-fledged profession and many are earning their bread and butter through it. 

Disadvantages of Online Gaming

But then there is always the other side of a coin which is often dark and dingy. The other side of online gaming is not only dark but dreadful too. Many tend to become addicted to online gaming and it takes away all of their productive time. When money gets involved in it through betting, families are ruined. It pulls an individual into isolation as mostly online gamers play alone. Their social interaction becomes nil which leads to depression and loneliness.

Online harassment through many gaming sites is not a new thing. Children can easily be trapped in this way. Long hours spent in front of the computer can harm their posture and eyes too. These games, through their catchy visuals, entice young children and they become addicted to them to such an extent that they forget to eat or sleep and prefer to sit in front of the screen all the time. Such addiction not only harms the individual but the whole family suffers due to it. Besides social effects, there are many psychological symptoms like anxiety, irritability and uncontrollable mood swings which take a toll on the health of an individual due to addiction.  

Ways to Control Online Gaming Addiction

Self-control, time management and focus can serve as the three pillars for fighting the addiction to online gaming. The external prohibitions from the government in the form of laws, certain regulations and even a ban on a few of them are not going to solve the problem. Good parenting, positive family time and socializing with friends can prove to be helpful.  In some severe cases, guidance from a counsellor could become necessary. Positive reinforcement & support from loved ones is required for an individual to come out of this addiction. 

‘Nothing can be more exciting and thrilling than a victory in real life’. So, let’s look forward to a win in real life than online.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

The influence of online game behaviors on the emotional state and executive function of college students in china.

• School of Mental Health, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China

Background and Objective: Since the classification of gaming disorder (GD) by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “mental disorder caused by addictive behaviors,” there has been controversy regarding whether online game behaviors can lead to mental disorder. This study aims to clarify the correlation between the online game behaviors of college students and anxiety, depression, and executive function of college students in China, from a questionnaire-based investigation.

Methods: Based on the whole class random sampling method, a questionnaire survey was conducted among college students in Northern Anhui, China from March 7 to March 27, 2020. The questionnaires included the Internet Game Addiction (IGA) Scale, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (Adult Version, BRIEF-A), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire Scale (PHQ-9).

Results: A total of 850 participants completed the survey, including 353 males (41.53%) and 497 females (58.47%). The primary age group was 18–27 years (91.53%), and the educational background was a bachelor's degree (94.7%). The study found that the online behavior of 17.76% of college students was online game behavior. This study did not identify any students who met the criteria for IGA, and 3% met the criteria for indulgent behavior. A dual role of online games was identified; moderate online game activities can improve the emotional state and executive function of college students, while excessive online game behaviors that may not reach the degree of addiction can also harm emotional state and executive function.

Conclusions: This study suggests that although IGA has been regarded as a mental disease, online game behavior should be treated differently. Online game activities should not be entirely denied, but mental disorders caused by excessive gaming activities deserve attention. In particular, the emotional state and executive function of students with excessive online game behaviors should be monitored and intervened in advance to avoid game behaviors turning into indulgent behaviors or addiction. As a cognitive control process, executive function may play a key role in regulating IGA and emotional state.

Introduction

With the rapid growth of the online game market, many young men indulge in online games, which has resulted in lots of negative social effects. Problems related to IGA have become increasingly concerning. Previous research reported that the prevalence of IGA has been estimated to be 0.5–6% ( 1 , 2 ). Long et al. ( 3 ) analyzed 36 representative investigations and found that the prevalence of problematic IGA was 3.5–17%. King et al. investigated more than 3,000 subjects and found that the prevalence of IGA was 0.3–4.9% ( 4 ). In addition, the above studies have found that young people are the high incidence population of IGA. The individual susceptibility constituted by genetic, physio genesis and personality characteristics may predispose young people to addictive tendencies and indicates that IGA disorder of young people is a real problem that needs attention.

IGA has been considered as a clinical phenomenon that requires further study, per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, 2013 (DSM-5) ( 5 ). In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) regarded gaming disorder as a mental disease and classified it in the category of the disorders caused by addictive behaviors ( 6 ). The introduction of two new standards has guided the primary direction for research in this field ( 7 ), but has also generated significant controversy. Clinical studies have found that IGA has the characteristic similar to those of behavioral addiction, such as excessive attention-seeking, compulsive, lack of control and impulsive behavior ( 8 ). Related research has indicated that IGA may decrease sleep quality and has a strong correlation with different degrees of anxiety, depression and other psychological distress ( 9 , 10 ). However, some researchers have suggested that IGA should not be classified as a mental disease ( 11 ). It has been reported that online games bring happiness to players, reduce anxiety, depression ( 12 ) and improve cognitive function ( 13 ). In addition, most online gamers are not exposed to addiction, suggesting the presence of factors mitigating against IGA. Previous studies highlighted that executive function plays a key role in the regulation of addictive behaviors and emotional status ( 14 ). Executive function includes decision-making, planning, inhibition and behavioral shift ( 15 ). Moreover, executive function can prevent the development of addiction by inhibiting impulsive and controlling behaviors, whilst degradation of executive function leads to an increase in impulsive behaviors and addiction development ( 16 ). Meanwhile, excessive online gaming could be detrimental to executive function, consequently spiraling without control and leading to impulsive behaviors ( 17 ). In essence, executive function plays a key role in IGA mitigation and mental health.

This study focused on the roles of executive function, anxiety and depression on the development of IGA, based on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (Adult Version, BRIEF-A), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire Scale (PHQ-9). Since online gamer demographics are predominantly individuals in the younger age-bracket, college students were selected for becoming participants of this study. This investigation sheds further light on the correlation of IGA and emotional disorder with executive function disorder, thus providing references to IGA mitigation within clinical practice.

Research Subjects

Based on the whole class random sampling method, a questionnaire survey was conducted on college students in Northern Anhui Province, China from March 7 to March 27, 2020. An online questionnaire survey method was used for the study and more than two classes were randomly selected from each grade of each school. With the help of school counselors, questionnaire links were distributed in a QQ group or WeChat group, and only one questionnaire could be completed per IP address. Questionnaires that were completed too quickly were eliminated and 850 valid questionnaires were finally considered for the study. Bengbu Medical College Institutional Review Board authorized this study (approval number: 2019-199). All experiments were performed in compliance with the regulatory approval.

Research Tools

Currently, there are few measurement tools for the diagnosis and evaluation of IGA which are based on DSM-5 and ICD-11. However, there are several inconsistencies between the two criteria used for determining the prevalence of IGA ( 7 ), which in turn, leads to a significant difference in determining the incidence of IGA. The development of measurement tools needs to be validated in cross-cultural clinical samples for effectiveness and reliability. Better results would be obtained if objective indicators including autonomic nervous system response, and electrophysiological parameters can be measured ( 5 , 18 , 19 ). Based on the above reasons, the IGA scale was used in this study. The IGA scale was compiled by Chinese scholars, which used Chinese college students as samples and adopted an event-related brain potential method to identify objective electrophysiological indexes that could distinguish IGA users from other Internet users. The reliability and stability of the scale for Chinese young people have been proven by reliability and validity tests ( 20 , 21 ).

IGA scale with 11 questions and a Likert 5-point scoring method were used for the study. From being “highly consistent” to “very inconsistent,” the consistency between the actual situation of the subjects and the questionnaire items were correspondingly scored from “4 points” to “0 points,” respectively. Subjects with higher scores were more likely to develop IGA. A score < 20 was regarded as normal online game behavior, a score ≥ 20 but <30 was regarded as online game indulgent and a score ≥ 30 was considered as IGA. In this study, the Internal consistency Cronbach's α of the questionnaire was 0.856, and the KMO test coefficient (Bartlett's test, P < 0.05) was 0.828, indicating that the scale had good reliability and validity.

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was previously translated into Chinese and validated by researchers in China ( 22 ). GAD-7 is a quantitative evaluation standard recommended by DSM-5 published by the American Psychiatric Association. It is an effective tool to identify possible cases with generalized anxiety disorder and has shown good reliability and validity in previous studies. The score is divided into four levels: 0–4, 5–9, 10–14, and 15–21, corresponding to no, mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively ( 23 ). In this study, the Cronbach's α of the standardized item of the scale was 0.922, and the KMO test coefficient (Bartlett's test, P < 0.05) was 0.920, indicating that the scale had good reliability and validity.

Patient Health Questionnaire Scale

The Patient Health Questionnaire Scale (PHQ-9) was previously translated into Chinese and validated by researchers in China ( 24 , 25 ). PHQ-9 is based on nine criteria of depression as stated in DSM-5 and is highly sensitive to depressive symptoms. The score is divided into five levels: 0–4, 5–9, 10–14, 15–19, and 20–27 corresponding to no, mild, moderate, moderately-severe and severe anxiety, respectively ( 26 ). In this study, the Cronbach's α of the standardized item of the scale was 0.905, and the KMO test coefficient (Bartlett's test, P < 0.05) was 0.930, indicating that the scale had good reliability and validity.

Executive Function Scale

Executive function was measured with the Chinese version Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A) developed by Roth and Gioia ( 27 ), It contains 75-items that yield an overall score, the Global Executive Composite(GEC), which is derived from two index scores [Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI) and Metacognitive Index (MI)]. The BRI is comprised of four clinical scales: Inhibit, Shift, Emotional Control and Self-Monitor. The MI is comprised of five clinical scales: Initiate, Working Memory, Plan or Organize, Task Monitor and Organization of Materials. A 1–3 level scoring system was adopted, with a score of 1 for “never,” a score of 2 for “sometimes” and a score of 3 for “often.” The higher the total score, the more serious the impairment of executive function. In this study, the internal consistency Cronbach's α of this scale was 0.976, and the KMO test coefficient (Bartlett's test, P < 0.05) was 0.966, indicating that the scale had good reliability and validity.

Statistical Analysis

The SPSS 25.0 software was used for statistical analysis in this study. The measured data were expressed as (M ± SD), and the independent sample t -test was used to compare two groups of measured data. The measured data for multiple groups were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, and multiple comparisons were made. Also, correlation analyses and multiple linear regressions were used to identify the relationships between the IGA score and anxiety, depression, and executive function, with a test level α of 0.05.

General Demographic Data of Subjects

A total of 850 participants completed the survey, including 353 males (41.53%) and 497 females (58.47%). The overall age distribution was between 18 and 27 years (91.53%). The educational background of the subjects mostly comprised a bachelor's degree (94.7%). Other general demographic data are shown in Table 1 .

Table 1 . General demographic data of subjects ( n = 850).

Network Usage of Subjects

Primary internet behaviors of subjects over the past 12-month period.

The 850 participants of the study were divided into two groups according to their primary Internet behaviors over the past 12 months. There were 151 (17.76%) participants in the Game group and the primary Internet behavior was playing online games. There were 699 (82.24%) participants in the Non-game group and the primary Internet behaviors included watching cinematographic and television programs, short videos, reading online novels, and shopping ( Figure 1 ).

Figure 1 . The primary network behaviors and grouping of participants ( n = 850) over the past 12 months.

Basic Information of the Game and Non-game Groups

There were significant differences in gender, grade, and online time between the Game and Non-game groups ( Table 2 ).

Table 2 . Basic information of the game group and the Non-game group.

Relationships Between IGA Scores and Anxiety, Depression, and Executive Function Scores

Differences in anxiety and depression levels among groups.

Based on the IGA score, the Game group was further divided into a 0–9 score group (6.68 ± 2.16), a 10–19 score group (14.84 ± 2.24), and a 20–29 score group (22.65 ± 1.98). The results showed that subjects without depression or anxiety accounted for the most significant proportion of the 0–9 score group, and subjects with more than moderate anxiety or depression accounted for the most significant proportion of the 20–29 score group ( Figure 2 ).

Figure 2 . Different anxiety levels (GAD-7) and depression levels (PHQ-9) among groups without depression or anxiety accounted for the most significant proportion in the 0-9 score group, and subjects with more than moderate anxiety or depression accounted for the most significant proportion in the 20–29 score group. 0–9, 10–19, 20–29, respectively represents group whose scores of Internet Game Addiction Scale were 0–9, 10–19, 20–29.

Scores of Anxiety and Depression, the Executive Function Total Scores, and the Executive Function Score of Each Factor Among Groups

The results showed that students in the 0–9 score group (based on the IGA score) had lower scores on the anxiety, depression, and executive function scales than those in the Non-game group, 10–19 score group, and 20–29 score group ( P < 0.05). However, students who were in the 20–29 score group had higher scores on the anxiety, depression, and executive function scales than those in other groups ( P < 0.05) (see Table 3 ). These trends are shown in Figure 3 .

Table 3 . Scores of anxiety and depression, total scores, and the executive function scores of each factor among groups (M ± SD).

Figure 3 . Trends of anxiety, depression, and total scores of executive function among groups. 0–9, 10–19, 20–29, respectively represents group whose scores of Internet Game Addiction Scale were 0–9, 10–19, 20–29; * P < 0.05: vs. 0–9 Game group, ** P < 0.01: vs. 0–9 Game group, *** P < 0.001: vs. 0–9 Game group.

Correlation Analysis of IGA Scores With Gender, Age, Anxiety, Depression, and Executive Function

Table 4 shows the correlation between IGA scores and gender, age, anxiety, depression, and executive function. The results showed that IGA scores were positively correlated with age, anxiety, depression, executive function, and executive function subscale factors (see Table 4 ).

Table 4 . Correlation analysis between online game scale scores and gender, age, anxiety, depression, and executive function ( n = 151).

Multiple Linear Regression Analysis of IGA Scores With Age, Anxiety, Depression, and the Total Score of Executive Function ( n = 151)

The IGA score was treated as the dependent variable, and age, anxiety, depression, and executive function scores were treated as independent variables for multiple linear regression analysis. The Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) for the predictor variables ranged from 1.027 to 4.768, which is acceptable as being below the threshold of 10; likewise, Tolerance levels for each predictor ranged from 0.210 to 0.974, which is also a satisfactory range. The results indicated that age, anxiety, and the total score of executive function were independent influencing factors of online game behavior (see Table 5 ).

Table 5 . Multivariate regression analysis ( n = 151).

This study investigated the differences in anxiety, depression, and executive function scores among the Non-game group and the Game group (the Game group was divided into the 0–9, 10–19, 20–29 score groups according to the IGA scale score). The results showed that the scores for anxiety, depression, and executive function of subjects in the 0–9 score group were lower than those in the Non-game group, 10–19 score group, and 20–29 score group. It indicated that compared with other online entertainment behaviors, moderate online games might help alleviate anxiety and depression, and improve executive function. This confirms prior research findings that moderate online games can improve players' cognitive executive ability ( 28 , 29 ) and alleviate or even reduce players' anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions ( 30 , 31 ). A brain electrophysiology study on games also showed that moderate games activate brain areas related to emotion processing and that the frontal lobe areas related to attention are also more activated ( 32 ).

However, this study found that the scores for anxiety, depression, and executive function of subjects with higher online game scores (20–29 scores) were significantly higher than those in the 0–9, and 10–19 score groups, and in the Non-game group. Further correlation and regression analyses for the Game group revealed that anxiety, depression, and executive function were significantly positively correlated with the IGA score. The above conclusions showed that although excessive online game behavior (20–29 scores) did not reach the degree of addiction (online game scores were 30 and above), it still had a certain degree of negative impact on the emotions and executive functions of players.

This study showed the correlation of emotion and addiction with executive function. As a key subcortical brain area (e.g., nucleus accumbent, amygdala, cingulum gyrus, hypothalamus), the limbic system is closely related to addiction development ( 33 ). Appropriate online gaming leads to increased release of dopamine within the limbic system, resulting in pleasure. Consequently, such gamers feel calm, with anxiety and depression being mitigated ( 34 ). Therefore, moderate gaming can maintain emotional volatility in balance, while IGA causes emotional imbalance. In order to pursue pleasure through online games, gaming addicts are unable to extricate themselves from playing, resulting in impulsive and uncontrollable behaviors. Abrupt gaming halts trigger negative emotions such as anxiety, depression and anger ( 35 ). At this stage, the purpose of online gaming addicts to compulsively play is not only a method for pleasure-seeking, also a means to offset negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression ( 36 ). This also describes why this study found that online gaming abusers have more serious anxiety and depression behavioral traits. Previous studies have found that IGA was significantly associated with anxiety, depression, and alexithymia ( 37 ).

Being one of the functions of the frontal cortex ( 15 ), executive function is also involved in addiction regulation ( 38 ). Indeed, executive function does include advanced brain functions, including planning, inhibiting, control, shift and decision-making ( 39 ). Executive function mitigates addiction by inhibiting impulse behaviors; normal executive function can maintain online gamer behavior in a moderate state and abate/stabilize emotional volatility. Impaired executive function leads to limbic system dysregulation, thus aggravating impulsive behavior and causing IGA ( 40 ). In addition, IGA can consequently aggravate executive function damage. For instance, executive function disorder is observed in online gaming addicts ( 41 ) and Studies of brain potentials ( 42 ) and functional magnetic resonance ( 43 ) have found that IGA causes executive dysfunction through frontal lobe injury.

This is consistent with the conclusion that gaming abusers are exposed to poor executive function. Hence, executive function may play a key role in the mitigation of IGA and regulation of emotional status.

It has been found that age has an inverted U-shaped relationship with GD, the risk peaks in puberty and decreases at ~30 years of age ( 44 ). In fact, while the limbic system undergoes remarkable remodeling during puberty, prefrontal areas development is not complete until near the age of 25 ( 45 ). In this study, though 96% of the participants in this study were over 18 years old, the number of people aged 18–25 accounts for nearly 80% of the total population. According to the neurobiological model of addiction, neurodevelopmental changes occurring during young people lead to an imbalance between emotional (reward motivation) and executive control ( 46 , 47 ). This neurobiological fragility may contribute in young people to a higher risk of developing addictive behaviors ( 48 ).

This study also found that in the online game group, the proportion of males was significantly higher than that of females ( P < 0.001), which is consistent with previous research ( 49 , 50 ). The differences in user needs between males and females could be the possible reason. Researchers have indicated that males prefer to get novel, stimulating, and exciting game experiences through online games, while females tend to maintain a real relationship through online social chat ( 51 ).

According to the standards of the original scale, those with scores of 30 and above are considered to be IGA subjects. However, there were no subjects with scores of 30 and above in this study. The reason for this might be that the subjects selected focus only on college students. Well-educated college students have better self-management abilities and hence lower rates of addiction. Some studies have found that even among the general population, only 0.3–1.0% of people meet the diagnostic criteria of IGA ( 11 ). On the other hand, the sample size of this study was not adequately large.

We investigated college students in Northern Anhui, China, the sample size of this study was not adequately large and the research subjects were only college students. Therefore, the results of this study need to be verified with a larger sample size and an expanded scope of research. This study only used questionnaire survey, and the results might be partially subject to subjectivity. Further research that includes brain imaging and neurophysiology is also necessary to corroborate the results of this study.

Conclusions

This study identified a dual role of online games. Moderate online game activities could improve the emotional state and executive function of college students. However, excessive online game behavior that does not reach the degree of addiction can also negatively affect emotional state and executive function. The imbalance between reward motivation and executive control might contribute to IGA. This study suggests that online game activities should not be completely denied, but the emotional state and executive function of those who indulge in online games should be monitored. Pre-intervention can prevent game behavior turning into an addiction.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of Bengbu Medical College. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardian/next of kin. Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s), and minor(s)' legal guardian/next of kin, for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author Contributions

WZ and TW wrote the first draft of the manuscript. DJ and RZ provided critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors have materially participated in the manuscript preparation and gave input to the manuscript text and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Project supported by the provincial Natural Science Foundation of Anhui (1908085MH278), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders Open Grant (13dz2260500), Innovative training Program for Chinese College students (11910510067), Innovative training Program for Chinese Graduate students (Byycx20008), Bengbu City - Bengbu Medical College Joint Science and Technology Project (BYLK201822), Bengbu Medical College key Laboratory of Addiction Medicine, Innovative training Program for Chinese Graduate students (Byycx21025), Science and Technology Development Fund of Bengbu Medical College (BYKF1818), and Key projects of Natural Science in Bengbu Medical College (2020byzd022).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: Internet Game Addiction, executive function, anxiety, depression, college students

Citation: Zhao W, Wei T, Zhou R, Wang Y, Wang Y, Ren Z, Shao W, Luo H, Zhou Y, Chen N, Lu Q, Song X, Zhang Z, Fang Y, Zhang X and Jiao D (2021) The Influence of Online Game Behaviors on the Emotional State and Executive Function of College Students in China. Front. Psychiatry 12:713364. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.713364

Received: 22 May 2021; Accepted: 22 September 2021; Published: 20 October 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Zhao, Wei, Zhou, Wang, Wang, Ren, Shao, Luo, Zhou, Chen, Lu, Song, Zhang, Fang, Zhang and Jiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Dongliang Jiao, jdl3925697@163.com

† These authors have contributed equally to this work

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Essay on Online Games Addiction

Students are often asked to write an essay on Online Games Addiction in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Online Games Addiction

Understanding online games addiction.

Online games addiction means playing games on the internet too much. This happens when someone spends more time playing games than doing other important things. This can cause problems like poor grades in school, less time with friends and family, and even health issues.

Reasons for Addiction

There are many reasons why people get addicted to online games. Some people play to escape from real-world problems. Others find the games exciting and challenging. Some people even play to feel a sense of achievement.

Effects of Addiction

Playing games too much can cause many problems. It can lead to poor performance in school or at work. It can also cause health problems like eye strain and lack of sleep. It can even hurt relationships with friends and family.

Overcoming Addiction

Overcoming online games addiction can be tough, but it’s possible. It’s important to set limits on how much time you spend playing games. It can also help to find other hobbies or activities to do instead of playing games. It might also be helpful to talk to a counselor or therapist.

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250 Words Essay on Online Games Addiction

What is online games addiction.

Online games addiction is when a person cannot stop playing games on the internet. They spend too much time playing these games and ignore other important things in life. This can harm their studies, health, and relationships.

Why Do People Get Addicted?

People get addicted to online games for many reasons. Some find these games fun and exciting. They enjoy the challenges and rewards that these games offer. Others use these games to escape from stress or problems in real life.

Effects of Online Games Addiction

Online games addiction can have many bad effects. It can cause poor grades in school because students spend too much time playing games instead of studying. It can also lead to health problems like eye strain and lack of sleep. Moreover, it can harm relationships with family and friends because the person is always busy with the games.

How to Overcome Online Games Addiction

Overcoming online games addiction is not easy, but it is possible. One way is to set a limit on how much time you can spend on games each day. Another way is to find other fun activities to do, like playing sports or reading books. It can also help to talk to a trusted adult about the problem.

500 Words Essay on Online Games Addiction

Online games addiction is when a person spends too much time playing games on the internet and finds it hard to stop. This can lead to problems in other parts of life like school, work, or relationships. It’s a bit like when someone can’t stop eating sweets, even though they know it’s bad for them. They might want to stop, but they find it very hard to do so.

There are many reasons why people get addicted to online games. Some people play games to escape from real-life problems or to feel good about themselves. Games can make people feel like they’re winning or achieving something, which can be very satisfying. Other people might get addicted because the games are so much fun and they lose track of time. Sometimes, people get addicted because they’re trying to be the best at the game and can’t stop until they are.

The Impact of Online Games Addiction

Secondly, addiction can harm relationships. If a person spends too much time playing games, they might not spend enough time with their friends and family. This can make people feel lonely and isolated.

Lastly, spending too much time playing games can also be bad for health. It can lead to problems like poor posture, eye strain, and lack of physical activity.

How to Prevent and Overcome Online Games Addiction

If someone is already addicted to online games, it might be hard for them to stop on their own. In this case, it can be helpful to seek help from a professional, like a counselor or a psychologist. They can provide guidance and support to help the person overcome their addiction.

In conclusion, online games addiction is a serious problem that can affect a person’s school, work, relationships, and health. It’s important to balance time spent on gaming with other activities and seek professional help if needed. Remember, games are meant to be fun, not something that takes over your life.

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