Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the current status of factors that contribute to the appropriate use of Internet games among public school students.
Methods: A self-administered survey using Google Forms was conducted from September to November 2021. The questionnaire covered gaming experience, usage patterns, gaming environment, physical and mental effects, and household rules. The analyses included aggregation, cross-tabulation, Spearman’s correlation, the chi-square test, and logistic regression.
Results: Out of the 5,084 respondents, 4,003 (78.7%) provided valid responses. Among them, 77.9% had gaming experience. In total, 23.2% played for more than two hours on weekdays and 47.6% did so on holidays. Longer gaming hours were associated with negative physical and mental effects. Additionally, 61.5% of elementary school students and 74.1% of junior high school students reported having household rules. Gaming in a personal room, playing age-inappropriate games, and a lack of household rules were factors linked to gaming for over three hours on weekdays.
Conclusion: This study highlighted the prevalence of gaming among students and its association with negative impacts and household rules. To encourage moderate Internet gaming, it is essential to enhance the gaming environment and establish rules within the household, emphasizing the significance of parent-child communication. Future initiatives should focus on creating specific support measures for educational settings and homes.
