Video games 'good for well-being', says University of Oxford study
Video games 'good for well-being', says University of Oxford study
Video games 'good for well-being', says University of Oxford study
By Zoe Kleinman
November 16, 2020
Summary
EA. People who play video games for long periods of time tend to report feeling happier than those who do not, a study has indicated.
The Oxford Internet Institute research focused on two games: Nintendo's Animal Crossing and EA's Plants vs Zombies.
In an unusual step, the developers of the games shared anonymised data about how long each participant had played.
These logs were then linked to a survey in which the players answered questions about their well-being.
In previous research, data gathered about the duration of subjects' gaming sessions was based on self-reported "Guesstimates", which can be inaccurate.
Nintendo solely provided data on playing times in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The gamers were also asked how they felt about their experiences.
"If you play Animal Crossing for four hours a day, every single day, you're likely to say you feel significantly happier than someone who doesn't," he said.
The academic suggested that one reason for the discrepancy might be that both of these games had social features, in which players interacted with characters controlled by other humans.
"We need to study more games, and more players, over more time," he said.
Reference
Kleinman, Z. (2020, November 16). Video games 'good for well-being', says University of Oxford study. Retrieved November 26, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54954622