Academics in Australia, China, and the UK have created the first test designed to study the potential effects of video games and gamers’ psychological well-being. The test went live a week after the World Health Organization officially classified video game addiction as a disorder, and is titled ‘Do I Play Too Much Video Games?’
In a document explaining the background of the study, academics Dr. Christian Montag, Dr. Bruno Schivinski, and Dr. Halley Pontes wrote:
To better understand the potential effects of video games, it is important that robust studies are conducted. One potential way for achieving this is by working directly with gaming communities. For this reason, we would like to ask you to participate in our study about video game effects and psychological well-being so you can play an active part in this mission. We hope that the highest possible number of gamers independent of their single/private addictive tendencies towards gaming will support the present study, because one of our goals is to get at the real numbers of Gaming Disorder in the gaming population. Therefore, a high number of participants with a broad background of gaming behavior allows us to infer correct numbers.
You can take the test right now and get instant feedback about your own gaming behavior, and how your results compare to other participants. Do note that it’s a lengthy test but an interesting one, nonetheless.
Looking at my own results, the test identifies me as gamer who likes a little bit of an escape from reality and enjoys developing skills such as coordination and concentration. Can’t say I disagree with that!
If you spare some time to take the test, share your results with us below and let us know what you think.
[Source: Eurogamer]
