ABSTRACT
Objective
We examined changes in gaming behavior among families with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic and their association with pre-pandemic media use types and family climate.
Background
The pandemic reshaped families’ mediatized daily lives. Drawing on the concept of “doing family in the digital age,” we study co-gaming as a potential means of family bonding and individual gaming as necessary personal time during the pandemic.
Method
We employed unique German longitudinal survey data based on probability-sampled households with 0- to 33-year-olds. Our sample comprises 930 mothers with 1,499 children aged 0 to 11.
Results
We found a slight decrease in mothers’ gaming between 2019 and 2021. Children’s gaming use rates increased by 22 percentage points, while daily gaming durations rose by 23 minutes (i.e., 39 minutes/day among users). Changes differed depending on pre-pandemic profiles of family media use, suggesting a “catching-up” effect of families with relatively lower rates of pre-pandemic usage.
Conclusion
We find no mitigating effect of co-gaming on deteriorating family climate. Rather, individual and co-gaming may regulate closeness and distance in families and beyond.
Implications
Our findings, capturing differences in children’s age and gender as well as in families’ patterns of pre-pandemic media use, are relevant for media educators and professionals working with families with moderate and excessive media usage.