Volunteers playing video games reported feelings of wellbeing, and video games did not appear to negatively impact players’ wellbeing, a study by the University of Oxford has found.
The researchers sought to investigate the validity of a widespread perception that playing video games may result in addiction and poor mental health. There has been extensive prior research establishing the varying cognitive benefits of playing different types of video games.
The researchers obtained online gameplay statistics from game producers Electronic Arts and Nintendo, then surveyed over 3000 players of two popular games: Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. These popular games are more ‘relaxed’ than the type of intense action-themed games that often come up in discussions about video games and mental health.
The surveys queried players on their wellbeing, their motivations and need satisfaction as they played their video games. Each of the volunteers had their gameplay time recorded by the respective game producers. On analysis, the researchers found that players reported slightly more positive responses than expected, with a slight positive correlation between gameplay time and wellbeing.
The researchers stated that the game producers’ only involvement was providing anonymised telemetry data. They also noted that they did not suggest a causal relationship between subjective wellbeing and how much time a person plays video games, only that playing video games does not seem to negatively impact the wellbeing of players.
Instead of considering the amount of time playing, the researchers suggest that the focus should be on why people play games to begin with. The researchers suggest that people who monitor the playing time of others should rather consider if the game is meeting their needs.
A recent, separate study revealed that boys with low physical activity who regularly played video games at 11 had fewer depressive symptoms three years later.
Source: Medical Xpress
Journal information: Niklas Johannes et al. Video game play is positively correlated with well-being, Royal Society Open Science (2021). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.202049
