Digital gaming is complex and diverse, and focusing on a balance between beneficial and detrimental effects overlooks young people's agency and agency.

The light, the dark, and everything else: making sense of young people's digital gaming

ESports and online video gaming are associated with poor lifestyle outcomes, such as decreased physical activity, increased BMI, and sedentary behavior, and poor nutrition and sleep quality.

The impact of eSports and online video gaming on lifestyle behaviours in youth: A systematic review

Playing video games is linked to enhanced well-being, problem-solving skills, intergroup relations, and physical activity in youth, with self-determination theory potentially linking these positive effects.

The Link Between Playing Video Games and Positive Youth Outcomes

An online console game club positively impacts young adults' lives through emotional, social, cognitive, and functional resources, suggesting potential for online education.

Online console game club as a resource a case study of the perceived meaning of club membership

Video game influences on aggression, prosocial behavior, academic performance, depressive symptoms, and attention deficit symptoms are minimal.

Do Angry Birds Make for Angry Children? A Meta-Analysis of Video Game Influences on Children’s and Adolescents’ Aggression, Mental Health, Prosocial Behavior, and Academic Performance

Poorer quality parent-child relationships increase the severity of adolescent problem gaming, while cooperative fathers may be protective against it.

Family factors in adolescent problematic Internet gaming: A systematic review

Pathological video-game use affects 8% of American youth aged 8-18, leading to poorer grades and comorbidity with attention problems.

Pathological Video-Game Use Among Youth Ages 8 to 18

Digital gaming identity in adolescents motivates friendship formation in school, making friendships 1.5 times more likely later in the school year.

Do adolescent gamers make friends offline? Identity and friendship formation in school

Youth who play electronic games for more than 4 hours a day are more likely to have severe obesity.

Electronic Gaming Characteristics Associated with Class 3 Severe Obesity in Youth Who Attend the Pediatric Weight Management Programs of the COMPASS Network.

Peer influence positively impacts youth screen media consumption, with boys showing greater influence on internet use than girls.

Peer effects on youth screen media consumption in Catalonia (Spain)

Depressive symptoms are a strong predictor of serious aggression and violence in adolescents, while video game violence and television violence exposure do not significantly impact this risk.

Video Games and Youth Violence: A Prospective Analysis in Adolescents

Greater peer support for playing active video games is associated with increased daily minutes of use, but not with daily steps.

Correlates of Active Video Game Use in Children

Prosocial content in video games does not significantly impact empathy in youth, with social competence and depression/anxiety symptoms being highly related to empathy measures.

Prosocial Video Game Content, Empathy and Cognitive Ability in a Large Sample of Youth

Problematic gaming is prevalent in high school students, with boys more likely to experience it than girls, and may be linked to regular cigarette smoking, drug use, depression, and serious fights.

Video-Gaming Among High School Students: Health Correlates, Gender Differences, and Problematic Gaming

Playing violent video games does not increase aggression or reduce empathy in youth aged 12-18.

Digital poison? Three studies examining the influence of violent video games on youth

Violent virtual gaming significantly impacts youth mental standing, affecting their academic, mental, and social abilities.

Impact of Violent Virtual Gaming on the Mental Standing of Youth

Online gaming clients are predominantly male (85%) and over 60% are older than 19 years, challenging the stereotype of an adolescent online gamer as a socially withdrawn young male with limited sex role identity.

Breaking the Stereotype: The Case of Online Gaming

Gaming preferences significantly influence students' interest in classical theater, while age and gender do not, suggesting that educators should tailor educational approaches based on students' preferences.

Investigating the Impact of Gaming Habits, Gender, and Age on the Effectiveness of an Educational Video Game: An Exploratory Study

Parents' excessive interference and communication with children increase academic stress, leading to decreased self-control, leading to increased pathological gaming in young adolescents in South Korea.

Pathological Gaming in Young Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study Focused on Academic Stress and Self-Control in South Korea

Active gaming is prevalent in 25.9% of Spanish adolescents aged 12-18, with more active gamers on weekends, and is associated with factors such as gender, weight, and socioeconomic status.

Active Gaming Prevalence and Correlates by Type of Day in Spanish Youth.

Some studies suggest gaming consoles enhance well-being, problem-solving skills, and social relations, while other studies indicate associations with poor lifestyle outcomes, such as decreased physical activity, increased BMI, and poor nutrition and sleep quality.