Playing regularly would benefit well-being according to a study by the Oxford Internet Institute – News

The question of the impact of video games on our health has arisen since the creation of the medium. At the root of many debates in the media, political and social spheres, video games are still a vast subject of study. More than a year after the inclusion of video game disorder on the WHO addiction list, a new study, led by the Oxford Internet Institute, is examining the potential benefits of regular practice.

Carried out with 3,274 players over 18, she studies used data provided by Nintendo and Electronic Arts on two titles: Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Plants Vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. After regular play sessions, subjects were asked to answer aa anonymous questionnaire on the feeling of well-being. According to Professor Andrew Przybylski, this study shows that players who played these games regularly reported feeling better than those who didn’t.

However, it indicates that this correlation between well-being and practice is only interesting because the other studies carried out would have been poorly conducted. Furthermore, it adds to the results not to give free play to games, however, but this will allow the development of new, more informative studies on addiction and toxicity problems.

You really have important and respected organizations like the World Health Organization and the NHS, who are dedicating attention and resources to something that is literally not good data. And I find it shocking, given the stakes and the reputational risks, says Andrew Przybylski a The Guardian.

Finally, the researchers were interviewed by AFP, which summarized the content of the comments on its Twitter account. According to them, the correlation is small but very present and online games can be an interesting alternative during this period of confinement.