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BRAZIL – 05-17 2021: In this photo illustration, a PlayStation (PS) controller and the Apex Legends game logo in the background. (Photo illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A major study by the Oxford Internet Institute found “little to no evidence” linking the amount of time spent playing video games with general well-being.

Researchers collaborated with the publishers of seven popular video games and used data from 39,000 international adult gamers to conduct the analysis, which was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

The study — using players from Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Apex Legends, Eve Online, Forza Horizon 4, Gran Turismo Sport, Outriders and The Crew 2 — objectively collected in-game behavior and responses from a three-wave survey to assess levels of individual well-being ranging from life satisfaction to emotion levels such as happiness and anger.

The scientists then joined the game data with research answers to conduct the analysis. It is considered the largest study of its kind to use real data on player behavior.

“This exciting study brings together significant amounts of real-world gaming data collected by game companies and donated by players,” said Professor Andrew Przybylski, senior research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, in a release. “Our work reliably measures how long people play these games over time, data that was simply inaccessible in the past.”

The study contradicted an analysis previously conducted by the same research group in 2020. That smaller study found that people who played video games for longer were luckier.

However, the newer study, conducted over a six-week period, found that individuals would need to play 10 hours more than usual every day to notice personal changes. The reason for playing was previously seen as a more important indicator of well-being.

Those who felt they played video games of their own accord had higher levels of well-being, while those who played because of a “sense of compulsion” fell at the other end of the scale.

“Our study finds little to no evidence of links between gameplay and wellbeing, but we know we need a lot more player data from many more platforms to develop the kind of deeper understanding needed to inform policy and provide advice to parents and medical professionals,” Przybylski said.

Scientists involved in the study said a wider net needs to be cast to better understand the true impact of video games on human health. They said platforms should make it easier for users to share their data with researchers who want to better understand the effects of video games.

“One thing is certain: At this time there is not enough data and evidence for policy makers and regulators to develop laws and regulations to limit play between certain groups in a population,” said Dr. Matti Vuorre, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. “I would urge all online platforms, not just game companies, to make it easy for users to donate their data to independent scientists.”

All data used for the study was anonymous and may be made public as a result, potentially informing other studies, the study authors said.

“This project also demonstrates the importance of transparency when studying video games. All data was anonymous, in order to protect the privacy of the participants, and could therefore be made public,” said Dr. Niklas Johannes, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute.

“The data is a valuable resource and allows other researchers to test their own research questions,” adds Johannes. “For example, we used this data to show that playing two online shooters had no effect on aggression, and we encourage other scientists to make the most of this data.”

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