Analysing the Impact of PUBG Game on Mental Health of University Students

Abstract

This paper will discuss how PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG) affects the mental health, social behavior, and academic performance of college students. The quantitative type of research was utilized and 325 students of a university were sampled through a structured questionnaire. Cronbachs alpha was 0.889 which showed the instrument is very much internally consistent. Data analysis was done using SPSS by use of descriptive statistics, one sample t -tests, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that most of the respondents were men and frequent PUBG players, with the average time per day spent on playing more than eight hours. The findings reported that moderate to high levels of stress, such as mental exhaustion, emotional and sleep-related problems, were strongly linked to over-use of PUBG. Online communication was also found to be more social and face-to-face communication and social neglect was more evident. Students mentioned distraction, tardiness of assignments, lack of concentration and skipping of classes in academic life. Inferential tests affirmed that the use of PUBG significantly affected the mental health, social life, and academic performance (p < .001). Regression results indicated that the playtime in PUBG was found to explain 22.5 percent of the variance of these findings, which is why the duration of playing the game daily was an important predictor. The research has determined that although PUBG is an entertaining game that offers an online modeling experience, overindulgence is a significant threat to the psychological well-being of students, their social relationships and achievements in school.