Game for socialising in real and cyber worlds

Breaking news: Teens play video games. A lot.
But it might not always be so bad for them. That's the conclusion of a report examining teens' gaming habits, socialising and civic engagement.

While the study found that 99 per cent of teenage boys and 94 per cent of teenage girls play video games, it didn't find that those who very frequently played games were more socially isolated or less likely to participate in civic activities.

Those who played games with a civic component to them were actually more likely to engage in such activities.

Reason for report

“It matters what kind of game you play more than how long you play it,'' says Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at the Pew Internet & American Life Project and a co-author of the report.

“There's a debate about gaming that is quite polarised. The intention behind this report is to open up and put some numbers behind some of these questions about games.''

To start, those numbers make it clear that video and computer games have become a standard part of most adolescents' lives.

Not only do nearly all teenagers play them but nearly one third of them play games every day.

An additional 21 per cent of teenagers play games at least three to five days a week.

Still, critics have been quick to target video games, in particular, as related to a variety of teenage problems, from obesity and reduced attention spans to antisocial behaviour and violence.

Some parents say it was hard for them to accept gaming as an acceptable activity, especially since it's not a medium they used much as kids.

“The incredible diversity of gaming opportunities out there means we need to think in more nuanced ways about what kids are doing and what the effects of those experiences might be,'' says Joseph Kahne, dean of Mills College's School of Education in Oakland, California, and a co-author of the report.

“To the extent we get locked into a ‘games are good' or ‘games are bad' framework, we're not going to be able to offer useful advice or guidance to parents. We're going to be shutting everything down or opening everything up,'' Kahne adds.