Time Spent Gaming Linked to Poor Behaviour, Not Type of Games: Study

Advertisement
By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 1 April 2015 19:36 IST
Time Spent Gaming Linked to Poor Behaviour, Not Type of Games: Study
Children who play video games for more than three hours a day are more likely to be hyperactive, get involved in fights and be uninterested in school, says a new study by the University of Oxford.

The findings published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture highlighted that the time spent playing games could be linked with problem behaviour and this was the significant factor rather than the types of games played.

The researchers found no link between playing violent games and real-life aggression or a child's academic performance. They also found that low levels of play - under an hour a day - might actually promote good behaviour and lower the levels of hyperactivity.

"This research suggests that playing electronic games may be a statistically significant but minor factor in how children progress academically or in their emotional well-being," said lead author Andy Przybylski from Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute.

The researchers examined the effects of different types of games and time spent playing on children's social and academic behaviour.

Advertisement

They relied on teachers' assessments of behaviour of individual pupils at a school in the south-eastern region of England - instead of relying solely on data from the young people.

These assessments were matched with the responses to a questionnaire that asked each of the 200 pupils in the study, who were aged from 12 to 13 years, how long they played games each day and the type of games they preferred.

Advertisement

The choice given was to play solo, offline competitive team games, online cooperative and competitive games, combat and violence, puzzles and strategy and games to do with sport and racing.

The study suggests that parents should pay close attention to the amount of time their children spend on these games.

Advertisement

Although some parents might believe that by playing strategy and puzzle games their child might boost their school grades or increase their social skills, the bad news is that the sociability and the grades of the children who played such games were found to be no higher than their non-playing peers.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Gaming, Science
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Oppo Reno 14FS 5G Design and Specifications Leaked: Check Expected Price
  1. Oppo Reno 14FS 5G Price, Design and Specifications Leaked Ahead of Anticipated Debut
  2. Samsung Galaxy A07 Listed on Google Play Console With Design, Key Specifications: Report
  3. Microsoft SharePoint Hack: Probe on Whether Chinese Hackers Found Flaw via Alert
  4. Samsung Reportedly in Talks With OpenAI, Perplexity to Offer Gemini AI Alternatives on Galaxy S26 Series
  5. Redmi 15 Design Renders, Specifications Leaked; Tipped to Arrive in Three Colourways
  6. Google Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL Spotted in Moonstone Colourway Alongside Pixel Buds 2a and Pixel Watch 4
  7. Meta Names ChatGPT Co-Creator Shengjia Zhao as Chief Scientist of Superintelligence Lab
  8. Who-Fi: An AI-Powered Wi-Fi Technology That Can Identify and Track Individuals Without Cameras
  9. NASA’s X-59 Moves Closer to First Flight with Advanced Taxi Tests and Augmented Vision
  10. Unusual Plasma Waves Above Jupiter’s North Pole Can Possibly Be Explained
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.