Study finds that there is no link between gaming time and levels of well-being

Many gamers around the world say that their playing helps their mental health.

A study of 39,000 video gamers has found "little to no evidence" that time spent playing video games has a bearing on their well-being. An average player would have to play for 10 hours more than usual per day to notice any difference. The reasons for playing were far more likely to have an impact. Well-being was measured by asking about life satisfaction and levels of emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, and frustration. The results contradict a 2020 study. Conducted by the same department at the Oxford Internet Institute - but with a much smaller group of players - the 2020 study suggested that those who played for longer were happier.

"Common sense says if you have more free time to play video games, you're probably a happier person," said Prof Andrew Przybylski, who worked on both studies. "But contrary to what we might think about games being good or bad for us, we found [in this latest study] pretty conclusive evidence. In China, children are allowed to play for only one hour per day on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. But many gamers around the world say that their playing helps their mental health.