According to a survey conducted in October 1982 by the BAT Leisure Research Institute among a representative sample of the population, the new video games on the home screen promote communication with family and friends rather than social isolation. Video games also contribute more to reducing aggression than to increasing it.
The latest survey by the BAT Leisure Research Institute analysed the attitudes of the population towards video games. Owners and non-owners of video game devices were surveyed. In many cases, the expectations of non-owners are identical to the actual behaviour of video game players.

Preferably with the family

The prevailing public opinion that video games have a negative impact on family life and family dialogue has not been confirmed. 96 per cent of video game owners prefer to play with family or friends. Three quarters of those surveyed believe that video games even provide an additional incentive to play together with the family. And almost two thirds (64 %) believe that video games encourage rather than disrupt family socialising.
The prevailing view is that video games are communicative media that are only fun to play together or in competition with others.
Video games are not a substitute for communication. On the contrary, they challenge communication - being together with others, playing together and talking together with family and friends.
Even those who do not own video game devices would mainly play such games with family and friends. However, there are clear differences in sociability orientation depending on school education. 61 per cent of respondents with a primary school education would prefer the family as a place to play, compared to only a third of respondents with a secondary school education. Of these, 68 per cent would choose their circle of friends.

Video games at the expense of television time

Video gamers predominantly favour action games and less thinking and strategy, educational or learning games. Two thirds of video game players believe that the action character of video games helps to reduce aggression and does not encourage new aggression. One third of video game players play once or twice a week, another third only once or twice a month. According to the interviewees, the time spent on this is exclusively at the expense of television consumption. Fewer television programmes are watched, but other leisure activities and hobbies remain unchanged. Interestingly, the non-owners also spend a similar amount of time playing video games as the owners.
Incidentally, video games are very well known. Almost everyone has heard of them. And almost 20 % of those surveyed who do not yet have such a device would like to own one.

Idleness is the beginning of many leisure activities

Who would have thought it: simply doing nothing, being lazy, free from stress and hectic, from constant demands. And all without a twinge of conscience. In a word: idleness without causing offence?
In a success- and performance-oriented environment, this sounds like a contradiction in terms, but according to the latest psychological findings, what has been demonised for many generations is a necessary need in life.
The Hamburg-based BAT Leisure Research Institute, which is primarily concerned with qualitative studies on leisure behaviour, has identified a new concept of leisure. There is agreement that phases of activity and hard work should be followed by a phase of rest and leisure. Doing nothing during the rest period does not have to be filled with new activities just to fulfil traditional ideas.
On the contrary, there is even a demand to have the courage to be idle and thus to experience a new form of leisure time consciously and without a guilt complex. Those who only have professional skills but do not practise the art of being idle will automatically become bored if they suddenly have to be idle in their free time. Leisure time can then easily become problem time.
Leisure researchers point out that Paul Lafargue - Karl Marx's son-in-law - already propagated the right to creative laziness, a bold act at the time that is now being confirmed. One day, people may look at bumming around, which is usually misunderstood, with completely different eyes. Very few people are yet prepared for temporary idleness without feelings of guilt. However, the leisure time of the future will provide ample opportunity to practise idleness.