Science Claims ‘Solution’ To Male Loneliness Epidemic Could Be in Your Home

With loneliness becoming an epidemic for men across the United States, many are searching for solutions. 

What if one is sitting right there next to your TV? 

Published research indicates that just might be the case. 

Turn on and tune out -- or connect 

A study published in ScienceDirect titled “Social video gaming and well-being” found for some people getting over feeling down could be as easy as firing up the Playstation 5 of Nintendo Switch. 

“Although commonly stereotyped as ‘loner’ technologies, video games have a rich social history,” wrote the authors of the report. “The first video games featured co-playing elements (as early computing technology could not yet simulate opponents) and likewise, games found widespread popularity in pubs, arcades, and other social gathering spots. Advances in network technology allowed video games to be played at a distance, and gaming has evolved to allow fully immersive social experiences between players from around the world.” 

Nick Bowman, director of media studies and a professor of communications at Syracuse University who worked on the study, suggested there are plenty of times in our everyday lives when a game of Madden or an hour of the latest Zelda game could be just what the doctor ordered — without having to call a doctor. 

“Video games are the thing that you can grab quickly, at no cost or low cost, and play for a couple of minutes,” Bowman told Men’s Journal. “Like for example, if I'm a little lonely — my partner's out of town, my dog's being a jerk, and I'm sitting at home, I can fire up Nintendo Switch. I can chat with some buddies, I can log off in an hour, and it's fun. That's very much the takeaway. That is supported in scholarship on what's called mood management theory, how we sort of turn to media as a way to sort of quickly correct our moods.” 

Bowman also stressed this method as a long-term solution, though. 

“It's a short-term, over-the-counter stress release,” Boman said. “it’s not gonna solve your problems. It's not gonna make you healthier, but remember also most people are not clinical. They're just having a bad day. 

“When I'm mowing my yard and I fall, I don't have to go to the urgent care. I need to quit being an idiot and grab a pack of ice, right? Video games are the ice.” 

Video games have always been social

Gaming might have started in arcades at restaurants and the mall, it quickly moved into the home with consoles such as the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari and Sega Genesis. 

That meant instead of gathering in public, players could play alone in their basement — or cram it full of friends for a long night of NBA Jam or Mortal Kombat. 

Then came the internet, which presented the opportunity to play someone across the street, across the neighborhood or anywhere else. 

That still counts as socializing according to Bowman. 

“When we start thinking about the loneliness epidemic and the discussions around people being cut off, part of that sometimes conflates physical presence with digital presence, right?" Bowman said.

“I think there's still a social level. I think there's assumption that there is a ‘real world,’ and that there is a ‘fake world,’ and the fake world's digital, but that's just not what we find in media psychology and communication scholarship.” 

It turns out communication is communication whether it is face-to-face, smoke signals, by phone calls, online chats or text messaging. 

“I laugh because I'm always like, ‘Why should I replace one medium with another?’” Bowman said.  “So long story short, it's not too surprising that by 2025, a medium that's kind of always been pretty social just continues to be social. World of Warcraft had like 17 million active accounts.” 

Bowman also noted gaming can be an outlet or communication tool for many generations these days. 

First of all, more adults play now because they were the first generation to grow up with consoles in their home, but that’s not all. 

“My favorite stories are some published research where grandparents were buying Animal Crossing (during the COVID pandemic),” Bowman said. 

“What they were doing is they were creating islands so the grandkids could come visit the grandparents in Animal Crossing, which is freaking cool. These are not people who in December 2019 would have played a video game.” 

Of course, using gaming as a “third place” is a concept game companies are happy to embrace. 

“It's definitely something I'm really excited about, talking about how the PlayStation experience is really a glue of sorts for modern friendship,” said Sean Whitcomb, who is the program director for safety and education at Sony Interactive Entertainment. 

"Being online and playing these types of games is just providing everyone who's on PlayStation an opportunity not only to get connected, but to stay connected," Whitcomb said.

"It's one of those things where as humans grow and life changes, right?  Jobs, marriage, kids, responsibilities. Picking up your PlayStation controller and texting a friend to say, 'Hey, do you want to play pick a game?' And then just catching up with them over the course of that game and seeing what's new in their life or being part of a friendship group that you can jump online and play on a given night or on a weekend night. Just have fun as a collective. It's having a circle of friends who are maintaining friendships." 

Sony’s network is home to 123 million users, and Whitcomb said many have reached out to share how being able to play online has helped them. 

“Gosh, this is one of my favorite ones: Someone had sent us a card about how playing The Last of Us helped forget through school and graduate and how just being connected to both the game and the show was really an inspiration to her.”