Role of Gaming on Mental Health During Lockdowns

TrAiDoS

Germany255 Posts

July 19 2026 10:57 GMT

Happy Sunday (or whatever day you're reading this).

It's been over six years since the COVID pandemic, and we (probably) all remember lockdowns, where more people played more hours of video games. At the same time, mental health dropped to a low, and loneliness skyrocketed. But was it all due to the lockdowns, or did video games have a say there too? Today's study looks at the relationship between time spent gaming, loneliness, and mental health during the lockdowns.

[DISCLAIMER]: The article is written for my weekly newsletter, and published on my website. A new episode comes out every Sunday (directly into your inbox and on my website).

Best,
Christian

iPlaY.NettleS

Australia4453 Posts

July 19 2026 23:50 GMT

Yeah personally I don't think it was gaming that hurt mental health during the lockdowns, more it was businesses being closed and socialising strongly discouraged.Alcohol use also sky-rocketed and people gained more weight and were generally unhealthier again because they were urged to stay home.So it's wrong to blame gaming here because people's choices were limited to such an extent.

In conclusion the lockdowns were a total disaster for physical and mental health and kicked off the high inflation environment we have all been struggling with the past 6 years.Its incredibly obvious the best choice was to never lockdown in the first place.

JimmyJRaynor

Canada17845 Posts

July 22 2026 12:58 GMT

it depends how you "game".

To cite two extremes to make the point...
Online Gaming when physically alone in a small room is bad for one's mental health. Going to be Barcade, drinking zero alcohol, while playing Jenga, Pinball, Foosball, and Air Hockey with friends is good for one's mental health.

TrAiDoS

Germany255 Posts

July 23 2026 10:47 GMT

On July 22 2026 21:58 JimmyJRaynor wrote:
it depends how you "game".

To cite two extremes to make the point...
Online Gaming when physically alone in a small room is bad for one's mental health. Going to be Barcade, drinking zero alcohol, while playing Jenga, Pinball, Foosball, and Air Hockey with friends is good for one's mental health.

I agree. HOW you play is much more important than what you play. Although, playing too much seems to be detrimental, especially to the average person. Mostly because of the lack of movement and the bad habits you've pointed out there that come with it. One should always have in mind that (most) video games today are made to be addictive. Hence, getting up doing something else often feels less rewarding--and our brain doesn't like that.

Cheers.

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