It’s official. The eggheads at Oxford University said so, so it must be true. Gaming does not appear harmful to mental health, unless the gamer can’t stop. That last bit is the important * here.
Take regular breaks from your game (or make sure others around you do). And learn to recognise the signs of possible gaming addiction, especially if you find yourself playing games because you feel you have to, rather than you want to.
The research, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, found no ‘causal link’ between gaming and poor mental health – whatever sort of games are being played.
The key takeaways of the research include:
It wasn’t the quantity of gaming, but the quality that counted…if they felt they had to play, they felt worse. If they played because they loved it, then the data did not suggest it affected their mental health.
There was no difference in impact on mental health – whether game involved moving to a new town with talking animals, as in Animal Crossing, or taking part in a battle royal-style game, such as Apex Legends.
I think this finding has serious implications for how we should look at grinding and unlock systems in games. So many “games as a service” titles use systems that keep you gaming for those unlocks and rewards. Daily challenges etc. On the positive they are nice rewards to have as a bonus when you regularly play but if they become the reason for playing the game - rather than you want to play - then they are problematic.
I remember with Apex Legends, when I first got into it I played regularly with friends and while the progression system was nice to have, the gameplay itself was what I was after. A few seasons in, and a couple hundred hours later, those daily and weekly challenges started to feel like a burden. I’d find myself logging in an trying to knock out those challenges as fast a possible. It became frustrating when you just couldn’t get those shotgun or pistol kills. When a whole run was wasted because you didn’t get a certain amount of damage or kills. When you played a character that you didn’t enjoy that much just to complete the challenge. Game sessions then left me feeling less relaxed and overall more unhappy.
Ultimately I made the correct decision in letting go of completing the battle pass, I played on the off chance when I felt like it. Over time I played less and moved onto other games. I still think Apex is a fantastic game and in my opinion the best battle royale that I’ve played. But I no longer feel obligated to keep up with it.
I have always, always had negative connotations to the term “grind”. I’ve had my “nose to the grindstone” all my working life. And I sure as heck don’t intend “grinding” for anything during my game time. For some the grind to get to the next level, achieve the next upgrade, get the bigger sword is fun.
For me that repetitive, mindless approach is drudgery and more like work than play. I can understand wanting to get to end game (another trigger term for me) and applaud those that have the determination to achieve those levels, but it’s not for me. I want to meander and take my time and appreciate the level design and the views. When a game becomes too much like work, I switch off.
