From time to time, you would still have people telling you playing games is a waste of time and bad for your brain. However, a recent study from the University of Oxford says otherwise, saying that there's no relation between the amount of time gaming and a person's mental health.
It's only natural that parents would get worried if their kids play a game for long hours. That said, the Oxford research team reported that motivation is highly a factor in playing and has no effect on their well-being. In the largest-ever study that was assisted by almost 40,000 participants, the study measured their feelings during gaming and general level of satisfaction with their life.
The study was conducted for six weeks and concluded that the "Time spent playing video games had limited if any impact on well-being. Similarly, well-being had little to no effect on time spent playing". Furthermore, "if they felt they had to play, they felt worse. If they played because they loved it, then the data did not suggest it affected their mental health. It seemed to give them a strong positive feeling".
While it sounds good so far, the researchers did say that the data for longer playtimes couldn't be determined because it was kept below 10 hours to avoid logging errors. Nonetheless, as a gamer myself, I do recommend having a good life balance. Too much of anything isn't good after all.
The games that were included were Animal Cross: New Horizons, Apex Legends, Eve Online, Forza Horizon 4, Gran Turismo Sport, Outriders and The Crew 2. It was also a collaboration between the game publishers and the research team. The latter suggests more studies are needed for more variety of games, genres and players. A lot more work still needs to be done, said the Oxford research team.
If you would like to read the full study report by the Oxford research team, you can check out the link right over here. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.
COMMENTS