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Oxford study finds games are not all bad
A University of Oxford study based on data collected from over 6,500 players suggests that videogames may have a positive effect on mental wellbeing.
Over 3,000 of the respondents shared telemetry data from their time playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville over a two-week period.
Positive play: "Contrary to many fears that excessive game time will lead to addiction and poor mental health, we found a small positive relation between gameplay and well-being," according to the study. The researchers also said that time limits “might not bring the benefits many might expect” either.
Not definitive: "Our results suggest that play can be an activity that relates positively to people's mental health – and regulating games could withhold those benefits from players," but also warned that this is only a single study, and that their results are by no means definitive proof that “game time causally affect well-being.”