Hello! I’m a psychologist and social data scientist researching the interaction between human behaviour and digital technology, with a specific focus on well-being and mental health. Most of my current work centres on video games: when they help, when they harm, and what separates the two.
Answering this question requires deeper insight into the data that is held by industry. That’s why I work with games companies including Nintendo, Xbox and Steam to build data-sharing partnerships, giving players and researchers access to the behavioural telemetry that platforms generate and hold. This matters because whether games help or harm depends less on how much people play than on how they play: which games, at what times, with whom, and what the play provides or displaces. Alongside this, I promote open science practices to make research more transparent and less prone to biases.
My doctoral research at the Oxford Internet Institute is supported by the Shirley Scholarship, next to that I hold the Dieter Schwarz Foundation’s AI, Governance and Policy Fellowship.
My work also informs policy. I have worked with organisations including Save the Children, MQ Mental Health and the European Commission.
Before the DPhil I took the MSc in Social Science of the Internet here at the OII, and before that I studied cognitive psychology and neuroscience at Amsterdam University College.
You can find more of my work at https://thomashakman.com/. Don’t hesitate to get in touch about emerging technologies, video games, AI, mental health, behavioural data, or digital policy!
video games, psychology, social media, ai, well-being, mental health, open science, data donation, ai governance.
This programme supports research on AI, Government and Policy.
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.
University of Oxford
OII DPhil student Thomas Hakman explores why RuneScape remains popular, showing how player freedom, mastery, and community satisfy core psychological needs despite the game’s age.
30 April 2025
New Oxford study offers roadmap for understanding video games’ complex impact on wellbeing
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.
16 December 2024
Ten Oxford Internet Institute (OII) DPhil students have received Dieter Schwarz Foundation (DSF) funding to enable them to begin 12-month AI- related research projects during the course of their studies.
