THEY may not make you fitter, but computer games can give your mind a buzz as
good as you鈥檒l get from any sport.
The feeling many gamers have of being 鈥渋n the zone鈥濃�攚here they are
totally engrossed, losing all sense of time鈥攊s comparable to the sense of
achievement athletes get when competing on the field.
Jo Bryce at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, and Jason Rutter
at the University of Manchester, wanted to find out what attracts people to
computer games. They compared psychological questionnaires completed by top
gamers at a tournament with those of athletes. The questionnaire measured the
psychological pleasure people get from play鈥攖he 鈥渇low experience鈥�.
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鈥淲e found very little difference between the two groups,鈥� says Bryce. Further
tests found that gamers from a wide range of ages and backgrounds each spend
between 15 and 18 hours a week at their joysticks. This may sound like a lot,
says Bryce, but the gamers actually spent more time with friends and only
slightly less time doing sports. Psychologist Mark Griffiths at Nottingham Trent
University says gaming is only excessive above about 30 hours per week. 鈥淎ll the
negative effects in gamers have be found in people playing very excessively,鈥� he
says.