Oxford University Finds Correlation Between Video Games and Wellbeing

There's a societal belief that video games are unhealthy for individuals to consistently play. However, new research conducted by Oxford News Blog says "video game play is positively correlated with wellbeing."

This study lead by the Director of Research at Oxford Internet Institute Professor Andrew Przybylski, alongside Niklas Johannes, Matti Vuorre, analyzed at the outcome of 3,270 individuals playing two popular games: Plants v. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

After playing, participants took a survey to answer questions "to measure well-being, self-reported play, and motivational experiences during play," Oxford University reported.

The end result was surprising, "time spent playing games is positively associated with well-being."

Przybylski states, "It’s fine to have an opinion about video games...But, without research, you cannot know if this is a real thing or just your own ‘facts’. You can have your own opinion but you cannot have your own facts."

He continued, "Our findings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a persons’ well-being. In fact, play can be an activity that relates positively to people’s mental health – and regulating video games could withhold those benefits from players."

The study concludes that there were limitations to this process as well as other factors to consider. For example, the amount of time video games were played was relatively short. This could influence what the players experienced, cautioning those before making claims about videos games and health.

Ultimately, according Przybylski, more studies should follow this to continue to research and to build a complete understanding on the topic.

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