Next time you pick up a controller, think twice about how it might affect your roommate's grade on his upcoming exam.
A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that first-year students whose roommates brought a video game to college had a GPA of .241 points lower on average and studied 40 minutes less on average each day than their colleagues with less game-addicted roommates.
Sophomore Raphael Kohlberg is familiar with this situation.
"Sometimes I would have to leave my room because it was so loud, especially when my roommate's friends would be there too. They would all get really excited and yell at the game," Kohlberg said. "Anything involving reading was really hard to concentrate on."
However, Kohlberg did not see a negative effect on her grades.
"My roommate playing video games didn't hurt my grades because I just found other places to study," she said.
Being paired with a roommate who plays video games isn't left completely up to chance. In addition to questions about smoking and sleeping habits, the housing questionnaire given to all freshmen planning to live on campus asks students to evaluate if they watch TV or play computer games often, occasionally or rarely.
According to Director of Residential Life and Learning Yolanda King, the distraction caused by video games has never escalated to the point of requiring intervention from the Residential Life office.
"At this time we have not received any complaints about students who play video games having any direct impact on their roommate or floormates," King said in an e-mail to the Daily.
But according to Assistant Professor of Psychology Samuel Sommers, video games are a natural distraction from studying in a space like a dorm room, the size and social dynamics of which may lead to an "if-you-can't-beat-them-join-them" pattern of behavior.
"While people have different thresholds for what is distracting, anything another roommate does could affect the other's ability to concentrate," he said. "Social influence and conformity definitely have a big effect. In such an intimate environment, roommates are likely to do the same things at the same time."
Freshman Merlin Boone has felt this effect firsthand. He said he is tempted to join when his roommate plays games.
"[Him playing] makes me want to play," he said. "It's an easy way to procrastinate, so it is a temptation. It's usually easy to just say no, but, even then, sometimes I just end up watching him play."
Other students find ways to work around a roommate who plays video games.
"If my roommate wanted to play video games, it might make it hard for me to study, but we could always set hours so that it wouldn't be a problem," freshman Cherry Lim said.
For some students, the best option is to remove video games from their lives entirely.
"My parents didn't let me bring [my video games] to school this semester so that I would concentrate on my work," freshman David Meyer said.
Other students simply don't feel the temptation to play.
"I don't own a Playstation because it's a total waste of time," senior Nick Malouta said. "It's like throwing time into a black hole."
But even students who do spend time playing games do not necessarily see that as a problem. Sophomore Brad Dreisbach said good time management can leave plenty of time for leisure - virtual or otherwise.
"Playing video games did get in the way of my studying last year, but I didn't care. As long as you do everything in moderation, you'll be alright," Dreisbach said.
Some students even found the games had positive effects, especially in the first year at school, saying that the joint activity of playing video games can help build important friendships early on freshman year.
"Playing video games helped give us something to do together. It created something to build our friendship on," senior Ben Bell said of his freshman year roommate.
Students said they found that having a roommate who played video games also helped foster friendships outside the room.
"[Having a roommate who played video games] helped me to meet other people on my hall. Because I didn't want to go to the library to do my work, I found other places to go in my dorm," Kohlberg said.
In addition to creating a way to make friends, video games also provide an outlet for students to relax.
"Tufts students have a lot on their plates. It could definitely be a good way to release stress," Sommers said. "It can be a good break to read a comic book or play a video game."
And, college being college, video games are just one of many ways roommates can be diverted from their studies.
"There are so many other things that could distract you," Bell said.
