This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Viewpoints and Personal Experiences on Gaming and Games (13) Extended Reality, Virtual Reality and Virtual Worlds (761) Problematic Internet Use, Online Gambling and Game Addiction (190) Depression and Mood Disorders; Suicide Prevention (1691) Peer-to-Peer Support and Online Communities (797)

Published on in Vol 11 (2023)

Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/43388, first published .
Time to Think “Meta”: A Critical Viewpoint on the Risks and Benefits of Virtual Worlds for Mental Health

Time to Think “Meta”: A Critical Viewpoint on the Risks and Benefits of Virtual Worlds for Mental Health

Time to Think “Meta”: A Critical Viewpoint on the Risks and Benefits of Virtual Worlds for Mental Health

Authors of this article:

Vincent Paquin1, 2, 3 Author Orcid Image ;   Manuela Ferrari1, 3 Author Orcid Image ;   Harmehr Sekhon1, 2, 4 Author Orcid Image ;   Soham Rej1, 2, 3 Author Orcid Image
Article Authors Cited by (46) Tweetations (7) Metrics

Journals

  1. Lee K. Counseling Psychological Understanding and Considerations of the Metaverse: A Theoretical Review. Healthcare 2023;11(18):2490 View
  2. Salloum S, Bettayeb A, Salloum A, Aburayya A, Khadragy S, Hamoudi R, Alfaisal R. Novel machine learning based approach for analysing the adoption of metaverse in medical training: A UAE case study. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked 2023;42:101354 View
  3. Paquin V, Philippe F, Shannon H, Guimond S, Ouellet-Morin I, Geoffroy M. Associations between digital media use and psychotic experiences in young adults of Quebec, Canada: a longitudinal study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2024;59(1):65 View
  4. Altaf Dar M, Maqbool M, Ara I, Zehravi M. The intersection of technology and mental health: enhancing access and care. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health 2023;35(5):423 View
  5. González-Tapia M. Virtual emotions and Criminal Law. Frontiers in Psychology 2023;14 View
  6. Sokołowska B. Being in Virtual Reality and Its Influence on Brain Health—An Overview of Benefits, Limitations and Prospects. Brain Sciences 2024;14(1):72 View
  7. Chohan U. Non-Fungible Tokens: Blockchains, Scarcity, and Value. SSRN Electronic Journal 2021 View
  8. Mazumdar H, Sathvik M, Chakraborty C, Unhelkar B, Mahmoudi S. Real-Time Mental Health Monitoring for Metaverse Consumers to Ameliorate the Negative Impacts of Escapism and Post Trauma Stress Disorder. IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics 2024;70(1):2129 View
  9. López del Hoyo Y, Elices M, Garcia-Campayo J. Mental health in the virtual world: Challenges and opportunities in the metaverse era. World Journal of Clinical Cases 2024;12(17):2939 View
  10. Paquin V, Ackerman R, Depp C, Moore R, Harvey P, Pinkham A. Media Use and Its Associations With Paranoia in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: Ecological Momentary Assessment. JMIR Mental Health 2024;11:e59198 View
  11. Mamede T, Lordêlo P. Mental health in the virtual world: Are we ready for the metaverse era?. World Journal of Methodology 2024;14(4) View
  12. Youssef E, Medhat M, Abdellatif S, Babiker Yousif N. Analyzing the Impact of Metaverse Technology on Social Development: A Field Study on Generation Z in the United Arab Emirates. Social Sciences 2024;13(9):446 View
  13. Kanbur A, Ceylan G, Erdoğan E, Ejder Apay S. Farklı Alanlarda Öğrenim Gören Öğrencilerin Metaverse ile İlgili Bilgi Düzeylerinin Karşılaştırılması. Üniversite Araştırmaları Dergisi 2024;7(3):192 View
  14. Lim W, Bansal S, Nangia P, Singh S. The bright and dark side of metaverse marketing. Global Business and Organizational Excellence 2025;44(2):58 View
  15. Chakrabarti S. Metaverse for mental health disorders: Opportunities and challenges. World Journal of Clinical Cases 2025;13(4) View
  16. Aslan A. Metaverse’ün Turizme Yansımaları: Paydaş Perspektifi. Abant Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 2024;24(3):895 View
  17. Chaddad A, Jiang Y. Integrating Technologies in the Metaverse for Enhanced Healthcare and Medical Education. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies 2025;18:216 View
  18. Al-Kfairy M, Alrabaee S, Alfandi O, Taha Mohamed A, Khaddaj S. Navigating Ethical Dimensions in the Metaverse: Challenges, Frameworks, and Solutions. IEEE Access 2025;13:79996 View
  19. Jia Y, Mvondo G. Exploring the adverse effects of the metaverse on users’ psychological well-being and Self-Esteem: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 2025;86:104321 View
  20. Koçak O, Kovan A, Alkhulayfi A, Alshehri N, Demirdöven M, Yıldırım M. The relationship between social network addiction, online gaming addiction, and suicide ideation: mediating and moderating role of loneliness. BMC Psychology 2025;13(1) View
  21. Paquin V, Raugh I, Davies M, Lepage M, Lavigne K, Dion J, Abdel-Baki A, Shah J, Iyer S, Ferrari M. Understanding the game experiences and mental health of youth: protocol for the Game-in-Action Quebec cohort study. BMJ Open 2025;15(9):e103685 View
  22. Orozco Santander M, Orozco Santander I, Corrales Delbono L, Zurita Caraballo M. Videojuegos y rehabilitación en salud mental: otras alternativas de intervención en Psicología. Búsqueda 2025;12(1):36 View
  23. Lhoeste-Charris A, Diaz-Moradt L, Navarro Obeid J, Orozco Santander M, Orozco Santander I, Señas Sierra B. Importancia de los videojuegos en los procesos de intervención en salud mental: una revisión sistemática. Telos: Revista de Estudios Interdisciplinarios en Ciencias Sociales 2025;27(3):981 View
  24. Liu J, Jasim M, Song J, Ha S, Kim J, Kim D, Lee H, Kim B, Jung H. Towards Understanding the Effect of Serious Games on Attention, Adherence, and Behavior for Children with ADHD. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 2025 View
  25. Zheng R, Nah F. Uncovering the values of the metaverse for leisure use by individuals: A value-focused thinking approach. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 2026;222:124399 View
  26. Paquin V, Aversa S, Nickrenz E, Jarvis G, Park M, Ferrari M, Shah J. Integrating the digital culture of youth in clinical mental health assessments: protocol for the codesign and pilot test of an interview method. BMJ Open 2025;15(11):e104200 View
  27. Stone J, Baker L, Altvater R, Ong T. Initial Recommendations for Virtual Reality in Mental Health Care from the American Medical Extended Reality Association. Journal of Medical Extended Reality 2025;2(1):325 View

Books/Policy Documents

  1. Mohamed A, Al-Barazie R. Advances in Systems Engineering. View
  2. Bodenstein K, Paquin V, Sekhon K, Lesage M, Cinalioglu K, Rej S, Vahia I, Sekhon H. Biomarkers in Neuropsychiatry. View
  3. Cacchione A. Augmented and Virtual Reality in the Metaverse. View
  4. Govindankutty S, Gopalan S. The Metaverse for the Healthcare Industry. View
  5. Borda A, Molnar A. The Arts and Computational Culture: Real and Virtual Worlds. View
  6. Raj G, Sharma A, Arora Y. Strategies for E-Commerce Data Security. View
  7. Gupta B, Chui K, Gaurav A, Psannis K. Metaverse Security Paradigms. View
  8. Tabassum A, Elmahjub E, Qadir J. Understanding the Metaverse. View
  9. Petil Jr. E, Florece M, Gomez M, Villaruel K, Fernandez H, Dela Cruz C, Ferrer-Rafols R. Global Innovations in Physical Education and Health. View
  10. Dimitriou M, Zissimopoulos C, Piliounis K, Valentine N. Leading and Managing in the Digital Era. View
  11. Lang F. Einführung in das Metaverse. View
  12. Trang T, Thang P, Linh N, Prasanth A. Proceedings of International Conference on Next-Generation Communication and Computing. View
  13. Nie K, Guo M, Gao Z. Bridging Art and Design with Technology. View

Conference Proceedings

  1. Young G. 2024 IEEE 5th International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds (IS2). Ethical Considerations in the Production and Consumption of Music in the Metaverse View
  2. Grassini S. Proceedings of the European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics 2024. The Hidden Psychological Costs of Virtual Work: Examining the Psychosocial Adverse Effects of Metaverse in the Workplace View
  3. Oei R, Amantha T, Cen J, Sutoyo R, Achmad S, Andangsari E. 2025 19th International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Management and Communication (IMCOM). Harnessing Spatial Computing for Enhanced Mental Health Monitoring and Support View
  4. Figueroa P, Gutiérrez F, Paderewski P, Cabas K, Mora J, Hitos A, Kawamoto A. 2025 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW). XR for Mental Health: How Users Perceive New Technologies? View
  5. Han J, Sun Y, Ppali S, Covaci A, Vande Moere A. Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. To Cuddle, Mingle, Venture, or Guide: How Architectural Affordances Influence the Experience of Social VR Places View
  6. Tikkanen R, Iivari N, Paajala I, Mattila J, Holappa J, Poikonen F, Jalli S. Proceedings of the 33rd International Conference on Information Systems Development. �Breaking the boundaries of nature� - Students� Perceptions of Metaverse Shaping Digital Future View