Given the choice of staying home and playing games all day or going to school or work or being a responsible adult, we’re sure that if there were no repercussions, there are many gamers who would opt for the former. However it seems that hypothetical option is starting to become a reality, at least that’s according to a recent study.
In a paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, it has been discovered that men aged between 21-30 years old are working fewer hours compared to the previous generation. To be specific, the study found that they were working 203 fewer hours a year which amounts to about 8.45 days less a year compared to before, and one of the reasons why is said to be video games.
In the study, they found that the number of hours men aged 21-30 spend playing video games averages out to 3.4 hours a week, versus from before where it averaged 2 hours. One of the reasons attributed to younger men spending more time on games is also because of the improved quality of games, where MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft can result in players spending countless hours at once (if you’ve ever tried raiding, you know probably know what I’m talking about).
It is an interesting study and it does raise some good points, although previously other experts have suggested that there are other reasons why we are working fewer hours than before, such as globalization, technological changes, shift to service work, and more, but what do you guys think? Do you agree with the study?
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