Andrew K. Przybylski is the Professor of Human Behaviour and Technology at the University of Oxford. Professor Przybylski investigates how online social media and video games platforms shape human motivation and influence the health and well-being of their users.
Professor Przybylski has published more than 100 peer reviewed academic and conference papers which have been cited more than 20,000 times in the past decade. He is a frequent commentator on the effects of internet-based technology on our lives and works closely with national and global policymakers to empower users and independent scientists to address the most pressing questions of health and human development in the digital age.
Professor Przybylski’s research, commentary, and contributions are regularly featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, Wired Magazine, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Week, and international outlets including the BBC World Service and PRI’s The World.
In acknowledgment of his scientific and policy achievements he was recently appointed as an Honorary Professor at The Educational University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Psychosocial Health where he is working to build mutually beneficial relationships between the students and faculty of both institutions.
His undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degrees were earned at the University of Rochester in the United States.
Digital well-being, online platform data donation, online trace data, online victimisation, social media, video games and mental health.
Human motivation, mental health, open science, meta science
Vuorre, M., & Przybylski, A. K. (2023). Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age. Clinical Psychological Science, 21677026231207790. https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026231207791
Vuorre, M., & Przybylski, A. K. (2023). Estimating the association between Facebook adoption and well-being in 72 countries. Royal Society Open Science, 10(8), 221451. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221451
Vuorre, M., Johannes, N., Magnusson, K., & Przybylski, A. K. (2022). Time spent playing video games is unlikely to impact well-being. Royal Society Open Science, 9(7), 220411. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220411
Orben, A., Przybylski, A. K., Blakemore, S.-J., & Kievit, R. A. (2022). Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. Nature Communications, 13(1), 1649. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29296-3
Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(2), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0506-1
Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2017). A Large-Scale Test of the Goldilocks Hypothesis: Quantifying the Relations Between Digital-Screen Use and the Mental Well-Being of Adolescents. Psychological Science, 28(2), 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616678438
This programme addresses the assumptions that the overall mental well-being of young people is undergoing a pronounced period of decline and that digital technologies might be driving this trend.
We’re developing an open source method of collecting behavioural video game data, to allow for rigorous science without relying on direct collaboration with industry.
This project will collect and share detailed behavioural game data donated by players to help us understand how the quality and quantity of online play shapes human motivation and mental health.
Professor Przybylski’s work is financially supported by the Huo Family Foundation, UK Research and Innovation, and the Economic and Social Research Council. In previous years, his research was funded by The British Academy, The Diana Award, The Leverhulme Trust, Barnardo’s, and the University of Oxford’s John Fell Fund.
I am currently contributing as a scientific advisor to the Sync Digital Wellbeing Program, and I conduct my research in line with the University’s academic integrity code of practice.
12 March 2025
New analysis finds that the number of hours spent playing Nintendo games did not significantly affect adults’ mental well-being, life satisfaction, emotional state, or depressive symptoms.
21 January 2025
With the rapid adoption of AI by children and adolescents using digital devices to access the internet and social media, OII experts call for a clear framework for AI research considering the impact on young people and their mental health.
25 September 2024
Playing video games can be good for your mood, according to a new international study from researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, part of the University of Oxford.
15 August 2024
Looking for new reading recommendations for the summer months? The Oxford Internet Institute's faculty, staff, and students share their top picks.
New Scientist, 02 April 2025
Nostalgia for video games seems to be strongest for those played during childhood – at least for Nintendo Switch players.
BBC Radio 4, 17 March 2025
And how long is too long when it comes to gaming? A new story from the OII has found that the number of hours adults spent playing video games did not significantly affect their mental well-being. We hear from the co-author Prof Andy Przybylski.
Forbes, 14 March 2025
Article highlights the current debate about concerns around social media use and adolescents citing research from Professor Andy Przybylski.
This course provides students with the opportunity to engage with the methodological, ethical and philosophical underpinnings of quantitative and qualitative social science research practices.
