Videogames Might Be Keeping Young Men Out of the Workforce

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America’s young men are increasingly giving up on work in order to slay virtual aliens and fight videogame wars, new research suggests.

Academics from Princeton University,the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester say there’s ample evidence that since 2000, men who would otherwise be working are instead being drawn into immersive virtual worlds, giving up paychecks in the process.

What’s more, these men are reporting higher levels of happiness compared with those who work, and they’re drawing on the support of mom and dad to stay there. The paper warns these men’s absence from the labor force is likely to negatively affect their employment and earnings prospects for the rest of their lives.

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“Our estimates suggest that technology growth for computer and gaming leisure can explain as much as three-quarters of that 4% greater decline for younger men,” the paper said.

These young videogame dropouts are now averaging 520 hours a year on the computer, with 60% of that time devoted to videogames, dwarfing other pursuits like socializing with friends in the real world.

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The men who essentially drop out don’t end up getting by via government support. Instead, they’re enabled by family members. The researchers found that nearly 70% of these men who aren’t working lived with a close relative in 2015, versus 46% in 2000.

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