Are virtual-game players more depressed?

Virtual online games involve chatting with people, performing quests together, forming groups and role-playing. One of the largest surveys of people who play virtual games, however, has found that time spent playing is linked to depression.

Researchers at Northwestern University surveyed 7,000 players of the virtual game EverQuest II. They found that depression levels in the groups ranged from almost 21% in people who didn't play the game that often to more than 30% in those who played a lot. "This could mean that highly active players get more depressed or that depressed people are more likely to be active role players," said the author of the study, Noshir Contractor, a professor of behavioral science.

The study was presented last week at a meeting of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science. The study also found that many players underestimate the amount of time they spend playing and that women are the most dedicated and satisfied players. Studying people who play virtual games is important, Contractor said. "In many ways it's a microcosm of our existence in the general social world."

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Greg Baker / Associated Press

Comments

[Paul Ryder]

I'm very glad to see some research done on gamers. Please keep it up. My 21 year old son has been playing World of Warcraft for about 5 years now. He has been in college at the U of MN for the last 3 years. He started school as a student athelete in track, he was #2 in the state of MN in the tripple jump and they wanted him as a decathelete (10 events) at the college. He could not maintain the grades, study, spend 20 to 25 hrs a week in track and also have a serious relationship with his girlfriend-texting about 900 times a month. He also had to spend time on the computer playing the Warcraft game. He is still in school, but - no track, no girlfriend, and he still plays the Warcraft game. He does not take time to meet other friends often, he doesn't exercise (note he was a top athelete), and he does seem depressed or tuned out. He has always been rather quiet and shy and when I see articles like this it makes me happy that some one is doing research. I honestly feel that it is an addiction that is very hard to break. They think they have many friends because they can talk to each other, but it is not reality, it is not the real world. How can I get him to see that? My therapist says to just show him love and take him to dinner now and then. When he is home on break, he spends from 10 to 15 hrs a day playing Warcraft. Is something wrong with this habbit? Paul from Minnesota

[Rich Garner]

This is odd. I'm an addicted video gamer, yet when I play, I make time for friends and family and I'm usually happy. Recently, like in the past few months, my health has prevented me from playing games and I have been more depressed than ever.

[Murray]

I've been playing MMORPGs for a very long time, and I would have to say that there is an opposite side to the equation.

Where on one hand people may be more overall depressed, they also reach out and fix problems through online contacts as well.

In Second Life, there are many successful people that are actually "virtual psychologists", and many people have found good advice through these people.

It's an eye opener when you put a number on something as specific as something as an MMORPG, but then again, you look at just the U.S. and how anti-depressants are such a huge market.

[Dude]

I think it's all backwards, when they get depressed they start playing MMORPG.

[Anonymous]

Definitely that people are more willing to role-play when they're depressed then gaming making you depressed. Anxiety, yes. Gaming makes most anyone anxious. It's a natural stimulant, it makes you pump brain chemicals through your body. Your body jones for the next fix. That may cause mood polarization, but not depression. However, depressed people REALLY don't wanna be themselves...what better way to be someone you're not than to project yourself through a virtual avatar?

[Emily]

i've been playing this game for about two years now, i got into it because i was a depressed and lonely teenager, i play it a lot, but i am still a depressed and lonely teenager, nothing changed.

[Juan]

Very interesting since i just bribed my self to stop playing MMOs I felt that i was spending way too much time on them. Often I did not want to go to work and when I did I was anxious to leave. As a college student I often just did enough work to squeeze by and felt myself going crazy with this need to play. I would not say I got depressed but very stressed with myself I claimed i had no time to do anything when in reality I did but I would rather play my game. So here goes my hard attempt to stop playing games at least for a good while.

[Joe]

This type of study really doesn't address anything. What are the root causes of the depression? Is it actually the MMORPG or other factors? The authors second reason is most likely correct, that depressed people want to play a virtual life where they can get away from their depressing life and not that the game itself is making them depressed.

When the study started I'm sure the hypothesis was, "Do MMORPG's cause an increase in depression cases?", but with no significant results they had to change it.

You can do the same study with apples (of apple eaters, 31% are depressed of non apple eaters 20% are depressed) does that mean apples cause depression too?

[Maz Ameli]

@Paul Ryder: Speaking from personal experience, Paul, playing video games that much is absolutely addictive and withdrawn behavior. Depression can lead to a desire to withdraw from and avoid real life, and engaging in fantasy worlds such as Warcraft can be an easy and addictive way to do so. If your son is spending 10-15 hours a day playing Warcraft, it's time to have a serious talk with him about what deeper issues are causing this behavior. It's one thing to splurge every once in a great while on an all-day gaming binge, but it is absolutely unhealthy if it becomes regular practice.

[Kevin]

Correlation does not imply causation!

[Nugget]

Games, Booze, Drugs, Sugar or Work... it's not these things people are addicted to--> People are addicted towards anything they do as a habbit and satisfies some chemical wellbeing internaly and only internaly. People are 'blank-aholics' just fill in the black.

As for the guy who said he's "an addicted video gamer, yet when I play, I make time for friends and family and I'm usually happy." He is not truely addicted. His brain-chemicals are healthy and that allows him to be a super-fan and also keep a balanced life.

Some people get very attached to 'blank' and that is a brain-chemical addiction. It has happened with anything even the Rubik's Cube.

[Anonymous]

yeah there many flaws in what they are saying. for one before i started playing i was in rut in highschool everything seemed to suck. now in college and i play world of warcraft everything seems a lot better.

also it seems like they dont look at the big picture alot of people feel better when playing and also can make friends. i started playing with some friends from school and they graduated that year so it was a way to keep in touch with them.

also it seems like they only looked at 1 demographic in the world of MMORPG's. there are many diffrent games with diffrent people dont pick and chose. take a group from every diffrent game then see what you come up with.

[Carrie Boo]

I agree that the more likely scenario is that a virtual world where you have the ability to be anybody but yourself would draw more depressed people. I think it would be ridiculous to assume the game causes depression rather than depressed people are drawn to role playing games. Anyone who uses any method of escapism (whether that's drugs, alcohol, video games etc) to the exclusion of everything else in life could obviously use some counseling at the least, but that goes for anything that becomes an obsession - not just a role playing game.

[Mic-B]

Ah, yes... I have found a similar study to this.... one that may link not only depression and mmorpg's.... but depression and BAGELS as well.... read on...

'Researchers at Northwestern University surveyed 7,000 eaters of bagels. They found that depression levels in the groups ranged from almost 21% in people who didn't eat bagels that often to more than 30% in those who ate bagels a lot. "This could mean that highly active eaters get more depressed or that depressed people are more likely to eat bagels," said the author of the study, Noshir Contractor, a professor of behavioral science.'

sheesh, give it a rest already, will ya?

[Level80Paladin]

buy him a pack of smokes. Tradeone addiction for another.

[Phang]

Leave it to the "good" folks of LA to twist and corrupt an interesting study into a misleading news story!

Here is a quote from the ACTUAL article that this blurb was stolen from:

"The older players tended to play more than the kids and, although the total hours played seem large, he said that the time mostly displaced either TV watching or movie going. And the surveys showed that those who viewed TV news in the first place continued to do so, suggesting that gamers really slotted EQ2 into their entertainment time.

Mostly, the gamers seemed healthy; their body mass index was better than the US average and, although they were slightly more depressed than average, they were also less anxious.

Buried among those happy, average players was a small subset of the population—about five percent—who used the game for serious role playing and, according to Williams, "They are psychologically much worse off than the regular players." They belong to marginalized groups, like ethnic and religious minorities and non-heterosexuals, and tended to use the game as a coping mechanism."

In other words, gamers are healthier mentally and physically than your average person, but LA can't find a story in reporting the truth so they have to pull one line out of the article and magnify it. Naturally they can't pull out the "marginalized groups" quote because it might be mistaken for race or gender baiting, so let's pick on the slightly more depressed people!

[Edgar]

This sort of biased data collecting is shameful. How about asking the question maybe they are depressed so they then play the game as an escape from the depression. The game is not the cause of the depression. It is just a fun hobby that keeps them from being more depressed. It is not a cause of depression or an effect of depression. The two have nothing in common it is just coincidence.

[Swampfunk]

Greetings,

I've been a long term MMORPG player. I played EQ1 for 11 years, and have played WoW for 2 years now.

I've played a consistant 20+ hours a week for almost that entire duration. (I did three 6-9 month breaks from gaming, mostly due to real life circumstances).

I know for a fact that depressed people tend to use MMO's as an reality escape. I highly doubt that gaming causes any sort of depression, considering the research on the effect of Gaming and the Brain, that says Gaming causes the release of happy chemicals (endorphines) in the brain.

The reason depressed people enjoy MMO's is usually the relief they find from their depression... MMO's definately do not cause depression... it's the depressed people that seek out MMO's to escape.

The Media needs to be careful with how it attacks the Gaming World. We are hobbysts, and yet often the Media treat us like an evil sub culture... it's like putting the spot light on a sports team like basketball... "Are Basketball players more depressed?"

[Josh]

I am 19 and I have played MMO's for the past 6-7 years. I've played 3 MMO's and the only reason I've left one to go to another was it was mentally stressing me. I would not call all MMO's in general out because I now play one that I can get on at any time of the day and just talk to friends and have fun. I first started out Playing Final Fantasy XI(FFXI) which is a world wide MMO. It requires long hours and forces you to be on at off hours of the day; daily.. In my first 3 years of playing FFXI I accounted a full year of in-game time. It was causing stress on me but I was actually happy just playing it now that I look back. I will admit that MMO's can cause stress but it is also a way to get away from the stress that you know you will be forced to see in the real life. I work in a office now as a intern and go to a community college but I still play MMO's daily. To me now, It is just a escape from life and a chance to relax with friends. I don't know all the people I talk to daily when playing but I have alot of friends who I do know outside of the game that play as well. I would say the depression comes from the people who criticize you for playing them.
I won't say they are not addicting though. You got me on that.

[ordie]

i would be depressed too if i was playing everquest II

[Matt Watson]

I have been an online gamer since a very young age and currently I am a very active player of Virtual Online Games, World of Warcraft to be specific. Apart from that I have always been fascinated with psychology and more specifically the psychology of online gamers! Unfortunately this fascination is more of a hobby rather than my choice of studies, but regardless I was excited to read this article.

It may be a long-shot but I am willing and hoping to be able to volunteer for such studies. I am part of close group of 200-300 players within the game World of Warcraft and I would absolutely love to participate in this study or any other concerning the psychology of online gamers. I'm certain the author Shari Roan is very busy with other articles but if you are at all interested in furthering studies, know someone who is, or if a reader of this article would like to do a study I would like to volunteer my time for such a project. I can most likely get a large number of my community to volunteer as well or simply submit anonymous data.

I'll monitor the comments and share an email address with whoever is interested!

[Shyssirixus]

Their portraying this in the wrong way, I think.
As a gamer myself, I can tell you that I game BECAUSE I'm depressed, not the other way around.

Gaming does not cause depression, it helps relieve it.

[bono]

I was depressed when I started playing 'Guild Wars'. Over two years later and +2000 hours logged on I was seriously depressed and tried to commit suicide. Playing the game didn’t cause the depression. But caused an addiction and significantly worsened the depression. In my case the addiction lead to the escapism. Then it contributed to trapping me in the depressed state. By helping remove me from activities that could have improved my mood. Alive and still an avid gamer, I don’t hold any grudge against the game or genre. I would guesstimate that its contribution was about 20% of the reason for my suicide attempt .

Videogames mess with the brain's natural reward circuitry. Reward-seeking gives the sense of accomplishment that triggers the release of dopamine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine
Dopamine causes the addiction. I would rank RPG’s as being as addictive as gambling which work off the same reward-seeking principles.

It’s not just RPGs anymore. All videogames genre are adding more the reward-seeking elements, to get you and keep you playing Leveling, unlocking skills, collecting better equipment, tracking wins/losses, achievements, earning titles.

[Adams]

It's a tad upsetting that people won't to correlate MMO's with depression. The games have nothing to do with being depressed. The life style that some people choose to live while playing the game propagates depression. It seems obvious when you say "sitting in a room that probably isn't well lit, all by yourself, while you simply just sit there" makes you depressed. Now i understand that not all people play that way, and that LAN parties exist. There is that social side to the MMO that is nice, but nothing beats RL. To any MMO players that feel depressed: get outside, go be active, get in the sun. All of these things are MEDICALLY proven to help. vitamin D from the sun improves mood, as does the chemical produced from physical exercise, endorphins I believe.

[Danny]

I used to play games a lot. At one point, it was all I wanted to do. I'm not sure they cause depression. But I think there is a link between having a compulsion for playing games and some form of mental problem. Not an irrevocable mental problem, or one like schizophrenia, but still a small problem.

At school I passed my exams by throwing away about $500 worth of games. In the trash. If I had given them to friends to keep while revising, I would just have gone and asked for them back the next day. When I threw them away I felt great.

Games are great - let's not deny this. A non-gamer cannot understand. Even a reformed gamer, one who plays a lot less, will have difficulty remembering how good and compulsive it was. But they will know in their bones and that makes them walk slightly quicker past their local game store.

Games are exciting, and colourful, and playing them you feel good. Better. But they also take time. It isn't enough to sit there for 15 minutes. To play properly you need at least four hours. And over time you start to neglect other processes that you use in your life. Not things you already have on a list somewhere. I mean the encounters and the ideas, the time for tidying up, and getting things straight in your head. The time you have outside gaming becomes a rush, and you can't tie off loose ends very well. Life stops being the boring, but relaxed, place it was, and you start to find you're always behind. That makes you paranoid and nervous and worried.

So then you play games more.

And that's how I think all the problems they cause start.