The health effects of playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons during a pandemic – BSc Thesis
Title: The health effects of playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons during a pandemic: The impact of digital games on people’s mental well-being in times of uncertainty and isolation
Title in Swedish: Hälsoeffekten av att spela Animal Crossing: New Horizons under en pandemi: Digitala spels påverkan på människors mentala välmående i tider av osäkerhet och isolering
Authors: Hanna Lindberg Johansson, Jack Noaksson
Institution: Stocholm University (SU), Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Sweden
Date and language: Spring term 2021, Swedish
Type: Thesis at BSc level degree project 15 HP (sv: Självständigt arbete på grundnivå [kandidatexamen])
Key words: Animal Crossing, Life simulation, Mental Health, Isolation, Pandemic, Digital Games
Advisor: Mirjam Palosaari Eladhari
Abstract
People isolating themselves due to the Covid-19 pandemic is proven to be a contributing factor to deteriorating mental health. The negative impact on mental well-being during a pandemic is often caused by a mix of factors, including physical isolation and the distancing from other people. Many people therefore turn to digital games to keep in touch with friends and family, possibly as a way to compensate for missed social activities. Digital games have the potential to be used as a tool to improve the condition of a wide range of mental illnesses, and although the use of digital games as a way to improve mental well-being is a relatively unexplored area, the studies conducted in the field have shown that the potential is there. Many players have turned to Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the pandemic to find peace and quiet and a way to escape from reality. In-game the player gets to know other characters and design their very own island, with no right or wrong way to play and no requirements placed on the player to advance. It is not uncommon for mental health to be mentioned when talking about the game and it is often described by its players as a good tool for managing mental well-being during quarantine. The problem is that it has not been clarified which part of playing that can have a positive effect on people’s mental well-being. The aim of this study is therefore to find out if playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons affects the mental health of people during a pandemic, and if so, what parts of the game affects the mental health?
To do this, a survey was conducted with data collection being performed via a web-based survey with a quantitative approach. A descriptive statistical analysis with various statistical tests was performed on data based on the answers from 1895 respondents, who have shown: a weak positive correlation between average playing time of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and mental well-being where those who played more felt worse, women consider in greater degree than men that their mental well-being is positively affected by playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, people who think they have a poorer mental wellbeing tend to play more games that are part of the life simulation genre, the feeling of escapism is the most contributing factor for positive impact on mental well-being. The conclusion drawn is that playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons can have a positive impact on people’s mental well-being during a pandemic, and that the parts of the game that have the greatest positive impact on mental well-being are the feeling of escapism experienced, and the possibility of socializing with friends online in the game.