Association of Social Gaming with Well-being (Escape COVID-19): A Sentiment Analysis.

ABSTRACT Background : During the 2020-2021 COVID-19 lockdown, social activities were limited by the government-recommended social distancing guidelines leading to an abundance of mental health issues. Methods : We hypothesized that Twitter sentiment analysis may shed some light on Animal Crossing: New Horizons and its impact on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results : We found the use social gaming and social media may be used as tools to cope with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions : Further research, including randomized designs and prospective measurements of mental health outcomes related to social gaming behavior are required.