It's one of the most popular hobbies in the world.

這是世界上最流行的愛好之一。

Globally, we spend at least half a trillion hours a year gaming, and that number is only going up. 90% of children play games.

在全球範圍內，我們每年至少花 5 萬億小時玩遊戲，而且這個數字還在不斷上升。90%的兒童玩遊戲。

But people often worry that games are a waste of time, a bad influence, or an unhealthy compulsion.

但人們往往擔心遊戲是浪費時間、不良影響或不健康的強迫症。

Gaming does have its good and its bad.

遊戲確實有好有壞。

I am doing way too much.

我做得太多了。

You can't end on a loss.

你不能以失敗告終。

You can't.

你不能。

You gotta end on a win. So how can you make sure you're maximizing the positives and minimizing the negatives?

你必須以勝利結束。那麼，如何確保最大限度地利用積極因素，最大限度地減少消極因素呢？

I want to tell you about three ways to ensure gaming is good for your mental health, not bad.

我想告訴你三種方法，確保遊戲對你的心理健康有益無害。

From after-school sessions of FIFA 06 to late nights playing Super Smash Bros. with the volume turned down, so we wouldn't wake our parents, games have hugely enriched my life.

從課餘時間玩《FIFA 06》，到深夜為了不吵醒父母而調低音量玩《超級大亂鬥》，遊戲極大地豐富了我的生活。

But by the time I was 14, I found myself retreating into the vibrant environments of World of Warcraft to deal with a depression I didn't fully understand.

但在我 14 歲的時候，我發現自己退縮到了充滿活力的《魔獸世界》環境中，以應對我無法完全理解的抑鬱。

Gaming took over.

遊戲接管了一切。

Thanks to therapy and discovering other hobbies like tennis, I eventually managed to bring gaming back into balance with other areas of my life.

多虧了治療和網球等其他愛好的發掘，我最終成功地讓遊戲與生活中的其他領域恢復了平衡。

But the stark contrast of these experiences stuck with me and led me to my current position at the Oxford Internet Institute, where I research how video games affect mental health. So what are the effects of video games on mental health?

但這些經歷的鮮明對比讓我難以忘懷，並促使我在牛津大學互聯網研究所擔任現職，研究電子遊戲如何影響心理健康。那麼，電子遊戲對心理健康有哪些影響呢？

The answer, as you might expect, is always: it depends.

正如你所想的那樣，答案總是：看情況。

It's a good way to unwind.

這是一種很好的放鬆方式。

It's a good way to mentally stimulate your brain.

這是對大腦進行精神刺激的好方法。

So my therapies are roller skating, playing my games.

所以，我的治療方法就是滑旱冰、玩遊戲。

For some, games offer a powerful sense of accomplishment or a way of experimenting with identity - say, another gender, a more assertive character, or a more emotionally vulnerable one.

對有些人來說，遊戲提供了一種強大的成就感或一種嘗試身份的方式--比如說，另一種性別、一個更自信的角色或一個情感上更脆弱的角色。

At the same time, some people experience harm from abusive and disruptive players or from manipulative design features that keep vulnerable players playing and spending.

與此同時，一些人也會受到濫用和破壞性玩家的傷害，或者受到讓弱勢玩家繼續遊戲和消費的操縱性設計功能的傷害。

Now, we can't definitively say who will be impacted in this way.

現在，我們還不能斷言誰會受到這種影響。

We do know very clearly from the scientific evidence that how gaming actually affects you has very little to do with how much time you spend playing.

我們確實從科學證據中清楚地瞭解到，遊戲對人的實際影響與人玩遊戲的時間長短關係不大。

It's more about what, how, why, and who you play with.

更多的是關於玩什麼、怎麼玩、為什麼玩以及和誰一起玩。

In other words, it's the quality, not the quantity, that matters. So how can you play in a way that's healthy and enriching?

換句話說，重要的是品質，而不是數量。 那麼，如何才能玩得健康又充實呢？

Here are three questions to ask yourself.

下面有三個問題要問自己。

Oddly, Genshin has shaped my artist identity because their designs are so intricate, and their color theory is amazing, and it's really inspired me with my characters, with my stories.

說來也怪，源信塑造了我的藝術家身份，因為他們的設計非常複雜，他們的色彩理論也令人驚歎，這真的啟發了我的角色和故事。

Gaming is so big, so vast.

遊戲是如此之大，如此之廣。

So if you don't like one thing, you have many options.

是以，如果你不喜歡一樣東西，你有很多選擇。

It's like a buffet.

這就像自助餐。

If you just stick with one section of the buffet, you're doing something wrong.

如果你只專注於自助餐的一個部分，那你就做錯了。

You need to try all the foods.

你需要嘗試所有的食物。

Fundamentally, games are learning engines.

從根本上說，遊戲是學習的引擎。

If you're not feeling this sense of learning and curiosity, it might be a good moment to switch to something else.

如果你沒有感受到這種學習和好奇心，也許是時候換換口味了。

Games are very social spaces.

遊戲是非常社交的空間。

As many as 80% of game sessions now take place in multiplayer games.

現在，多達 80% 的遊戲會話都是在多人遊戲中進行的。

You can really sort of find your people, as it were.

在這裡，你可以真正找到自己的人。

Research shows people feel best when playing with people they know offline too. Spending time playing games is, by definition, not spending time doing something else.

研究表明，與線下熟人一起玩遊戲時，人們的感覺最好。顧名思義，花時間玩遊戲就是不花時間做其他事情。

Now it's fully okay to prioritize gaming, as long as you're aware of how each gaming session is affecting other areas of your life.

現在，只要你意識到每次遊戲都會對生活的其他方面產生影響，把遊戲放在首位是完全沒有問題的。

Are other things that are important to you getting squeezed, like work, university, school, sleep, or relationships?

其他對你很重要的事情，比如工作、大學、學校、睡眠或人際關係，是否也受到了擠壓？

Keeping a diary of your play can be a good way to keep an eye on this.

寫遊戲日記是一個很好的方法。

Some people, they might need reminders, so maybe set a reminder on their phone.

有些人可能需要提醒，也許可以在手機上設置提醒。

I recently got into playing Diablo III, an endless loop of higher-level dungeons rewarding you with higher-level loot.

我最近開始玩《暗黑破壞神 III》，這是一個無休止的高級地下城循環，你可以獲得更高級的戰利品。

I had the sinking realization that I could do this forever.

我突然意識到，我可以一直這樣做下去。

And most of it might even be fun.

其中大部分甚至會很有趣。

But a year from now, would I be glad that I did it? These questions are just a starting point.

但一年後，我是否會慶幸自己做了這件事？這些問題只是一個起點。

They've helped me cultivate the relationship I want to have with games.

他們幫助我培養了我想與遊戲建立的關係。

It just feels like home.

這裡給人一種家的感覺。

I feel kind of like a kid again amongst the adult world, which can be pretty tough.

在成人的世界裡，我感覺自己又回到了孩子時代，而這可能是非常艱難的。

Gaming's all about positivity for me.

對我來說，遊戲就是要積極向上。

It's all about a sense of freedom.

這就是自由感。

So, yeah, I balance it well.

所以，是的，我平衡得很好。

I hope they help you too, or your loved ones, to become ever so slightly more reflective about your gaming so you can experience the best of what gaming has to offer the world.

我希望它們也能幫助你或你所愛的人對遊戲有更多的思考，從而體驗到遊戲給世界帶來的美好。