Observers versus agents

Dynamics and moderating factors of esport participation and loneliness: A daily diary study

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between esport participation and loneliness, as well as its moderating factors. Chinese college students (N = 216) self-reported their esport playing time and degree of loneliness each day immediately before bedtime for four consecutive weeks. The findings revealed that as playing time increased, students did not experience reduced sense of loneliness during playing esport, but they experienced a temporary and intensified feeling of loneliness the same day following gameplay. Students with higher general loneliness tended to feel more after-game loneliness associated with increased esport participation. Students with higher obsessive passion about esport tended to experience more loneliness (both in-game and after-game) associated with increased esport participation. Students with greater coping motivation about esport tended to experience more in-game loneliness associated with previous increased esport participation. Students who played esport less often with friends in person, or with more escape motivation toward esport, tended to increase esport participation time more following previous increased after-game loneliness. The findings suggested that college students should avoid utilizing esport to achieve a sense of belonging and should be cautious of the loneliness-inducing effect after gameplay. A healthy level of loneliness can be maintained by playing esport more with friends in person, learning strategies to avoid obsessive passion, coping motivation, and escape motivation towards esport.

Is Increased Video Game Participation Associated With Reduced Sense of Loneliness? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the existing evidence in literature addressing the relationship between video game participation and loneliness. The following databases were searched on October 2, 2021: Medline, Psychinfo, SportDiscus, Web of Science, and CINAHL. The risk of bias of cross-sectional study was assessed by using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist for analytical cross-sectional studies with attrition bias added for longitudinal studies. The results of all included studies were synthesized using narrative synthesis. Meta-analysis was utilized to synthesis the findings of the studies that had sufficient degree of statistical and methodological homogeneity. Eighteen studies were included in this systematic review, which comprised of 20,372 participants. The narrative synthesis showed mixed findings on the relationship between video game participation and loneliness. Meta-analysis that was conducted to nine cross-sectional studies revealed that video game participation was positively and weakly associated with loneliness (r = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.03-0.17). Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies demonstrated serious risk of bias with the addition of serious inconsistency of findings from cross-sectional studies. The existing literature is equivocal in terms of making a definitive judgment on the association between video game participation and loneliness. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021283025. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021283025.