ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2007) — Online video games with thousands
of simultaneous players, such as “World of Warcraft,” have
become hugely popular in the last two decades and are now a
multibillion dollar industry with tremendous financial success.
Joshua Smyth, associate professor of psychology in The College
of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University, recently conducted
a randomized trial study of college students contrasting the
effects of playing online socially interconnected video games
with more traditional single-player or arcade-style games. While
both multiplayer and traditional single player video games
present a double-edged sword, Smyth’s research found that
online, socially integrated multiplayer games create greater
negative consequences (decreased health, well-being, sleep,
socialization and academic work) but also garner far greater
positive results (greater enjoyment in playing, increased
interest in continuing play and a rise in the acquisition of new
friendships) than do single-player game