Let’s play together: Effects of video-game play on intergenerational perceptions among youth and elderly participants

• Paired youth and elderly volunteers for video-game and non-video-game activities.
• Through pre-test and post-test, changes in intergenerational bonding computed.
• Bonding constructs include inter-age-group attraction, attitudes and anxiety.
• Video-game condition saw more positive changes in intergroup anxiety and attitudes.
• Game enjoyment influences positive intergenerational perceptions for the elderly.

In this paper, we report on a longitudinal study that investigates the effects of video-game play on intergenerational perceptions amongst youths and the elderly after participating in a program involving regular interaction sessions over two months. Each pair of participants, consisting of one youth and one elderly, was randomly assigned to either the video-game condition (n = 38, 19 from each age group) or the non-video-game condition (n = 36, 18 each). Attraction, intergroup anxiety, attitudes, and game enjoyment were measured through pre-test and post-test surveys to investigate changes in perceptions. Results showed that participants in the video-game condition reported more positive changes in intergroup anxiety and attitudes, compared to participants in the non-video-game condition. Mediation analyses showed that specific attraction towards their interaction partner mediated the effects of video-game play on attitudes and intergroup anxiety towards the general members of the other age group. In addition, the results showed that game enjoyment played an important role in developing positive intergenerational perceptions only for the elderly, but not for the youth participants in the video-game condition. We discuss implications with respect to options to enhance intergenerational perceptions and communication for youth and elderly cohorts in today’s hyper-ageing society.