Gaming among Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Role of Parents in Time Spent on Video Games and Gaming Disorder Symptoms

Abstract

It is mainly children and adolescents who are involved in video gaming. The lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may have further increased their use of video games and, consequently, the risk of gaming disorder (GD) symptoms. However, currently, we do not have exhaustive knowledge of this issue. To fill this gap, the current study aims to analyze video gaming habits in children and adolescents during the lockdown, starting in March 2020 in Italy, the first European country affected by the pandemic. Specifically, we aim to understand how variables related to parents—for instance, knowledge of their offspring’s life, the monitoring of their video gaming habits, and parental use of video games—are related to their offspring’s time spent on video games and GD symptoms. A web-based survey involving parents (n = 554, 79% mothers, mean age = 45.39) of 554 children and adolescents (73% males, mean age = 11.11) was utilized. The results showed that they were involved in video games, particularly boys and adolescents, with high rates of GD symptoms. The parents also spent a considerable amount of time playing video games. A path model that explained the mechanisms through which parental variables were related to their offspring’s time spent on video games and GD symptoms, controlling for gender and age, was verified. Overall, the findings indicate the importance of educating parents to behave effectively with respect to video games and monitor their offspring’s video gaming habits.

Changes in the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Associated Factors and Life Conditions

“…In particular, the current investigation suggests that playing video games in moderation may be a helpful strategy to cope with stress, aversive emotions, and loneliness during a lockdown situation, especially those that encourage physical activity and social interactions [ 20 ]. On the other hand, setting restrictions on the time, place, and content of video games seem to be effective strategies to prevent or reduce symptoms in those children who developed addictive behaviors in this pandemic period [ 45 ]. Parents should also foster alternative avenues for social interaction, meaningful leisure activities, and a wider repertoire of interests among their offspring to maintain the right balance with offline activities in their daily routines [ 44 , 45 ].…”

“…On the other hand, setting restrictions on the time, place, and content of video games seem to be effective strategies to prevent or reduce symptoms in those children who developed addictive behaviors in this pandemic period [ 45 ]. Parents should also foster alternative avenues for social interaction, meaningful leisure activities, and a wider repertoire of interests among their offspring to maintain the right balance with offline activities in their daily routines [ 44 , 45 ]. Finally, it is important to ensure that young people have access to mental health resources and provide therapists with training on problematic media use to help them recover from the isolation and stress of the pandemic [ 42 ].…”

Addictive Internet Gaming Usage among Korean Adolescents before and after the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of the Latent Profiles in 2018 and 2020

“…The increasing trend of gameplay time on mobile phones is evident, and the reason for the increased play time may be partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mobile gaming industry has been growing drastically since its introduction with smartphones and earned a total revenue of $86.3 billion in 2020 [ 63 ]. As the gaming industry continues to prosper during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be expected that, unlike internet gaming on a PC, the mobile phone gaming industry will continue to grow, attracting more adolescent players.…”

Changes in Self-Reported Web-Based Gambling Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study

“…This was also reported in an Italian study conducted during the lockdown, when gamblers reported not only a decrease in gambling but also the relief they felt because the restrictions meant they could not gamble as before [21]. Auer et al [19] confirmed this situation in a population of Swedish, German, Finnish, and Norwegian citizens, who reported no increase in gambling activity.…”