At his peak, 17-year-old Zach Slonim was gaming for about 25 hours a week, sometimes experiencing angry outbursts when he lost.

Key points: The family surveyed 250 people, aged 18 to 25, about their gaming habits in high school

The family surveyed 250 people, aged 18 to 25, about their gaming habits in high school They asked about the types of games played, current gambling habits and emotional wellbeing

They asked about the types of games played, current gambling habits and emotional wellbeing The survey found less than three hours of gaming a day was unlikely to cause negative effects

Zach's parents, Ellen Garbarino, a marketing professor, and Robert Slonim, an economics professor, both at the University of Sydney, were worried by what they considered to be "excessive" gaming.

They feared it could cause long-term negative effects, such as social isolation, a lack of physical exercise and missed opportunities in life.

Zach, however, thought his parents were "overreacting" and debates about playtime soon became a "common household argument".

Zach admitted to aggressive outbursts or refusing to stop gaming until he won. ( ABC News: Kevin Nguyen )

"We got the idea that we should prove it to him, one way or the other — I think we expected to win the argument," Professor Garbarino said.

So the family surveyed 250 people aged between 18 and 25 — seeking responses about gaming habits in high school, types of games played, current gambling habits and emotional wellbeing.

Zach also helped formulate the questions and identify the difference between skill-based and luck-based games.

Parents lose argument

The parents were surprised to find that moderate video gaming — less than three hours a day — was unlikely to have any impact on depression levels, loneliness, resilience or overall quality of life.

"However, when teens game more than three hours a day, they report being more depressed and lonely," Professor Garbarino said.

"We also found that the type of games teens played mattered, where games of luck were related to more depression, more resilience and gambling."

"Those who played luck games in their teens were almost three times more likely to have gambled at least once in the past year and almost twice as likely to have gambled at least once per month compared to those who played more skill games."

Professor Garbarino said the study examined a common bone of contention between parents and children.

"Parents and teens seem to endlessly battle over time spent video gaming," she said.

"In fairness to our son, when we were growing up, we had the same conversations with our parents about televisions," Professor Slonim added.

They said they study showed parents shouldn't be too "alarmist" about moderate playtime, but they should be on the lookout for children skipping meals or having difficulty stopping play.

And while Zach feels more or less vindicated by the results of the study, he has since dialled back his playtime to focus on his school work.