A study by an academic from the University of Greenwich has investigated the effects of Pokemon Go on life satisfaction and social functioning in participants with and without self-reported mental disorder diagnoses.
434 current Pokemon Go players aged 18-69 of various genders and nationalities participated. A subsample of participants self-reported diagnoses of various mental disorders with impairments in social functioning.
Dr Tanja SH Wingenbach, who led the study, said:
“There are many mobile games, but very few social mobile games and even fewer of these are successful. Pokemon Go continues to engage diverse players around the world making it unique. I assumed it must have benefits for to players that go beyond the game itself. I was particularly intrigued by the social aspects of the game, which then triggered the current study. As humans, we are inherently social and need social interactions, whether we are aware of it or not. To think that there is a relationship with well-being, then it’s not really far-fetched.However, I find it impressive that a mobile game can lead people to healthy behaviors and have such positive effects on them.
“Covid-19, and the subsequent lockdowns, forced us to have less face-to-face interaction and this study highlights the importance of that kind of interaction. It should really encourage gamers and non-gamers alike to get out and interact with others.”
Participants provided retrospective and current self-report measures of their Pokémon Go use, life satisfaction, social functioning (sociability and social ability), and clinical symptom severity.
Results showed higher social functioning and life satisfaction from playing Pokemon Go compared to the time period before playing.
The results show that Pokemon Go motivates social interactions and increases life satisfaction, demonstrating that social mobile games offer an easy-to-implement tool to subjectively improve social functioning. This has important implications for populations with social difficulties and reduced social motivation, as well as for those unaffected by these difficulties (who also reported improved life satisfaction).
Source:
Journal reference:
Wingenbach, TSH and Zana, Y., (2022) Playing Pokemon Go: Increased life satisfaction through more (positive) social interactions. Frontiers in sport and active life. doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.903848.