Study claims young men rather play games than get jobs

A new study, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, is claiming that young men without college educations are more likely to live at home with their parents and play games instead of work.

Economists from Princeton, the University of Rochester and the University of Chicago are reporting that young men specifically without college degrees are "rejecting work is that they have a better alternative: living at home and enjoying video games."

The report suggests that the young men might not be consciously making this decision, but it's a decision that has made them happier.

"Happiness has gone up for this group, despite employment percentages having fallen, and the percentage living with parents going up. And that's different than for any other group," said the University of Chicago's Erik Hurst, an economist at the Booth School of Business who helped lead the research.

It appears as though there has been a drop in the workforce for individuals under 30 without a college education and an increase in that group living at home and playing video games.

"As of last year, 22 percent of men between the ages of 21 and 30 with less than a bachelor's degree reported not working at all in the previous year — up from only 9.5 percent in 2000. Overall, only 88 percent of men between the ages of 25 and 54 are working or looking for work, the third-lowest among 34 developed countries, according to the White House's Council of Economic Advisers.

"Young men without college degrees have replaced 75 percent of the time they used to spend working with time on the computer, mostly playing video games, according to the study, which is based on the Census Bureau's time-use surveys. Before the recession, from 2004 to 2007, young, unemployed men without college degrees were spending 3.4 hours per week playing video games. By 2011 to 2014, that time had shot up to 8.6 hours per week on average."

This isn't something only found within communities of males without a college education, more-educated young men have also seen an increase in their gaming time. The difference between the two groups is that those with college degrees haven't seen a dip in a number of hours they work – which means they are less likely to find troubles later on in life when attempting to find a skill based job. This group will have the experience and skills required to land a position.

Alternatively, the trends are noted to be different for women, who are more likely to go back to school.

According to the study, one-third to one-fifth of the decline in work hours by less-educated young men is due to the use of technology for entertainment — mainly video games. The use of games in this group of young men is supported by the fact that "nearly two-thirds" of nonworking, less educated young men live with family members. For the first time since the 1930s, more men (between the ages of 18 and 34) are living with their parents instead of significant others, according to the Pew Research Center.

Overall, the rise in the use of video games by young men has been attributed to the games offering community and a sense of achievement – something that many real-world jobs lack.