These feelings of enjoyment during play may be even more important than the actual amount of time spent sat in front of a video game. Lead author Professor Andrew Przybylski, director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute, said: “Previous research relied on self-report surveys to study the relationship between play and wellbeing. Without objective data from games companies, those proposing advice to parents or policymakers have done so without the benefi t of a robust evidence base.”
Overall, Prof Przybylski believes video games do little harm.
“Our fi ndings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a signifi cant eff ect on a persons’ wellbeing,” he said.
“In fact, play can be an activity that relates positively to mental