Games and Ghibli films boost youth happiness, study finds
Watching Studio Ghibli films and playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can significantly increase young people’s level of happiness. This conclusion was reached by researchers in a new study published in the journal JMIR Serious Games, Kazinform News Agency reports.
According to the authors, modern youth are increasingly confronted with anxiety, stress, and declining life satisfaction. In this context, the researchers set out to examine whether artistic forms of “active escapism,” such as open-world video games and nostalgia-inducing films, could contribute to psychological well-being.
A total of 518 master’s students took part in the experiment. Participants were divided into four groups: one played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, another watched excerpts from Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service), a third group combined both activities, while the fourth served as a control group without gaming or cinematic stimulation. Afterward, students completed a survey assessing their sense of calm, exploratory mindset, coping skills, sense of meaning, and overall life satisfaction.
The study revealed that playing Zelda significantly increased happiness levels compared to the control group (average score 4.56 versus 3.17). The effect was even more pronounced when the gaming experience was combined with watching Studio Ghibli films: this group reported the highest life satisfaction scores (average 5.55).
The authors emphasized that the positive effects of games and films were mediated through several factors: a sense of exploration and discovery, inner calm, feelings of mastery and skill, as well as the perception of purpose and meaning.
Earlier, it was reported that new findings suggest that interest in conspiracy theories is less about personal beliefs alone and more about the search for belonging.
