Annotated Bibliography

Digital Influence on Social Health 

Kalenkoski, C., Pabilonia, S. (2024). Teen social interactions and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Review of Economics of the Household, 23(1), 357-404. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/sociology/docview/3162039368/abstract/70AD64E6A3B544C0PQ/1?accountid=11654&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals doi: 10.1007/s11150-024-09712-x  

Charlene Marie Kalenkoski's thesis is that teens' social health during the COVID-19 pandemic were affected by their resorted choices of socialization, presenting fresh data from the American Time Use Survey and Well-being Modules with the goal of bringing attention to low well-being during the pandemic. Kalenkoski intends to show that any communication and socialization between teens, including participation in videogames, was beneficial to their health, which she claims has important effects on such an important developmental period. Department Head and Professor of Economics at James Madison University, Kalenkoski has authority in technical research and societal impacts of events in society. Supplementing her authority, co-author Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia, a member of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C., has direct access to a multitude of statistical data. Within the paper, Kalenkoski analyzes the trends in life satisfaction among teens before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting a downward trend as it progressed, as well as the forms of socialization they resorted to during isolation. She presents data on how time spent each day correlates with levels of stress, sadness, and school/work time. Eventually, she concludes that teen girls were more stressed and increased their leisurely activities, like phone calls with friends and watching shows, while boys were less happy but less stressed while having increased their time playing games online with friends, noting that this may have allowed them to maintain appropriate levels of stress and socialization with others. 

MacDonald, D. (2016). The relationship between videogames, time allocation decisions, and labour market outcomes – evidence from the American Time Use Survey. International Journal of Time Use Research, 12(1), 34-57. Retrieved from  https://research.ebsco.com/c/m64srv/search/details/ldqb3ey2rz?db=sih&limiters=None&q=videogames%20social%20impact&searchMode=boolean doi: 10.13085/eIJTUR.13.1.34-57 

Daniel MacDonald's thesis is that the labour market is associated with trends of working-aged individuals and their time commitment to videogames, heavily referring recent American Time Use Surveys to determine whether the trends are positive or negative for the current market. His purpose is to contribute to research regarding the impact that the growing group of young adults playing videogames has on labour supply and time spent job searching, both of which, he claims, have powerful effects on the economy. Chair of the Economics Department at California State University, San Bernardino, MacDonald uses an 11-year-long survey with over 140,000 observations in this process, which involves analyzing trends of time-use across age groups, genders, regional data, and even specific weekday spreads. MacDonald affirms the claim that more time spent on videogames correlates with less time spent searching for jobs and education, implementing data from the American Time Use Survey. He concludes by stating that while that may be the case, videogames are more cognitively and socially beneficial than other leisurely pastimes, like watching TV, and as such, may even reverse the impacts of the negative association initially found. 

Türkay, S., Lin, A., Johnson, D., & Formosa, J. (2022). Self-determination theory approach to understanding the impact of videogames on wellbeing during COVID-19 restrictions. Behaviour & Information Technology, 42(11), 1720–1739. Retrieved from https://research-ebsco-com.proxyse.uits.iu.edu/c/m64srv/viewer/html/wm65xbz2xz doi: 10.1080/0144929x.2022.2094832 

Selen Türkay, Allan Lin, Daniel Johnson, and Jessica Formosa present a thesis that wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic was aided by participate in videogames as a compensatory response, using an interview study and implementing Self-Determination Theory to analyze videogames’ role as a coping mechanism and its long-term effects. Their purpose is to provide research immediately following the end of the pandemic, investigate the potential clinical or procedural effects of gaming as a tool, and dissipate the social stigma of videogames and those who enjoy them. Professors of Computer Science at Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, AU, Türkay et al. use their diverse, professional understandings of digital media culture and implement Self-Determination Theory to study how specific aspects of an individual's life either helps or hurts their motivation. Using evidence from an 11-person interview which included diverse members of various genders, ages, and screen time allotments, Türkay et al. claim that the reported impacts of COVID-19 support videogames as a healthy remedial activity during the isolation. They maintain participants’ need for accomplishment and lack of self-sufficiency were both satisfied by their involvement in videogames, supporting the positive correlation between the activity and sustaining mental health. While some participants reported an excessive use of videogames as a compensatory activity, Türkay et al. state that this led to a quick readjustment post-pandemic, as the players quickly got tired of gaming after the world reopened. They conclude by considering the therapeutic implications of videogames as a coping mechanism, aiding people through traumatic situations or faltering life satisfaction.