The Kids Are All Right

If you have a teenager, chances are he or she plays video games. And given the amount of social worry, even paranoia, about gaming, there are a lot of worried parents.

The simple fact is that, for many, gaming carries a stigma that likens it to hardcore pornography and cigarette smoking; video games are habit-forming and unhealthy.

But it can be hard to find a teenager who has never played a video game. What's so unusual about this entertainment phenomenon is how an activity so ubiquitous can also be so stigmatized.

---

Want to comment on this story? Want to see what other readers think?Click here.

---

But one thing is absolutely clear: Kids are gaming - big time.

The video game industry is boasting record software sales. According to the Entertainment Software Association, also known as the ESA, approximately 31 percent of gamers are teens.

So what exactly are teenagers doing when they play these mysterious video games? That depends in part on what kind of gaming you're talking about.

There are two types of gaming: hardcore and casual. A casual game is generally regarded as a video game that requires little time commitment, no special skills from the user and comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer. Essentially, a casual game is something one can start and stop playing in a span of minutes.

Teens play casual games mostly in short stints - during breaks in school or on public transportation. Casual games are designed to be short, simple and mobile. Thus they are usually played on cell phones or Web browsers such as Internet Explorer. Moreover, casual games do not require any special hardware purchases.

A hardcore game, on the other hand, is one that is played on store-bought console systems or a PC. It requires hours rather than minutes to play.

Gaming is a cultural phenomenon that has vastly affected the electronic entertainment world of teens. It is the process by which a player directly interacts with a virtual world through the use of handheld controls. Gaming can be extremely challenging: Good gamers must possess strong analytical ability as well as flexibility and adaptability.

Gaming has what experts call a high "immersion capability" - it's easy to get deeply into games. That is both one of their great attractions and one of the reasons many look their nose down on games and the people who play them.

The popularity of video games among teens and 20-somethings has led to several stereotypes. The most notable are the "lonely kid" stereotype and the fanatical "Columbine" stereotype. At their core, both come from the assumption that kids who game never see the sun, never talk to "real people," and spend 24 hours a day in what equates to an isolation chamber.

There are some natural, understandable worries: Are games a medium that leads to, or perhaps indirectly promotes, antisocial behavior? Could the types of games played affect the perceptions of its players so much that they may cease to be able to discern reality from fantasy? Recent studies done by the American Psychological Association demonstrate that children rated themselves with an increase in aggressive traits after playing violent video games. Another study cited by the APA stated that research involving more than 600 eighth- and ninth-graders who played violent video games were rated by their teachers as more hostile than other children. These studies link violent video game playing and aggressive behavior in the real world.

There is a fine, albeit extraordinarily important line that must be drawn here. It is something that everyone else chooses to ignore - especially proponents of video game legislation: Hostility and aggression are not acts of violence in and of themselves. Hostility and aggression are human traits - traits that bubble to the surface during any conflict or sport.

There is not enough data to analyze the longitudinal studies of video game violence on teens. Further evidence might prove the contrary. Can video games turn teens into killers?

Of course not.

There is not a single documented case in the history of video games in which the medium itself has been proven to cause violence. Nor has there ever been a proven instance of someone thinking they were in a video game.

Dr. Jerald Block, a practicing physician and CEO of SMARTguard Software, spoke with GameCore to discuss violence in gaming and the most notable, Grand Theft Auto upheaval.

According to Dr. Block, "…even if there is a relationship between gaming and aggression, why do we assume that is bad? Might some degree of increased aggression be something desirable, as a society? Speaking as a psychoanalyst, I'd like to point out that aggression gets a bad rap; it is a fundamental drive that can lead to all sorts of productivity and achievement."

So, really, the kids are all right.

Still, some feel that this is not entirely true. Cases have been brought up in order to plead the plausibility of violent content in games being harmful to kids. To that end, politicians, lobbyists and activists have pushed for legislation of video game content, particularly violent games.

Lobbyist Jack Thompson has been one of the most outspoken and visible critics of "violent entertainment." Thompson has represented victims of "video game-related violence" and, in 1992, the American Civil Liberties Union named him one of its top 10 censors of the year. According to Thompson, in an interview with GameCore, "GTA [Grand Theft Auto series] has sold 30 million units, with San Andreas expected to hit 20 million on its own. It's the Number 1 seller in the world right now. That fact alone does not square with ISA and ESRB's dodge that "the majority of games are not violent or M-rated." What matters is how many units delivered are violent, and to whom they are being delivered." He further indicates that, "...the industry is selling these games to kids whose parents are reckless."

2005 research data from the ESA shows that 93 percent of people who make the actual purchase of computer games and 83 percent of people who make the actual purchase of video games are 18 years of age or older.

But here's the shocker: The average age of the game buyer is 40 years old. This includes both male and female players. In addition to that, the average adult woman plays video games 7.4 hours per week. The average adult man plays 7.6 hours per week. Though males spend more time playing than females, the gender/time gap has narrowed significantly.

In 2003, men played video games 18 minutes more than their female counterparts; in 2004 they spent only six minutes more each day doing so. Females spend an average of two hours more per week playing games now than they did a year ago, and 38 percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (23 percent). No longer does the stereotype of the "adolescent gamer boy" have any legs to stand on.

If the average teen is spending only about eight hours a week playing games, what is he or she doing with the other 160 hours?

According to the ESA, gamers devote more than three times the amount of time spent on games to exercising or playing sports, volunteering in the community, religious activities, creative endeavors, cultural activities and reading.

Hard to believe?

Further research shows that 93 percent of game players report reading books or daily newspapers on a regular basis, while 62 percent consistently attend cultural events such as concerts, museums or the theater.

Does this mean that gamers are, in fact, quite social outside of the virtual arena? The above data seem to prove that. Still, the "lonely kid" or "Columbine shooter" stereotype lives on.

But what do parents really think about gaming?

Data from the ESA suggests that 35 percent of American parents say they play computer and video games. The typical gamer parent is 37 years old, and almost half of this group (47 percent) are women. Gamer parents have been playing for an average of 13 years, with one-third reporting having played for 20 years or more, and spend 19 hours a month playing games.

So why the outcry from "so many parents" outraged at the game industry for potentially harming their kids by providing improper game content?

At some point, games such as Mortal Kombat became targets for crusaders and politicians like Joe Lieberman, Jack Thompson and Hillary Clinton. That happens with teen culture consistently - remember long hair, rock 'n roll music and greasers? Even though rock 'n' roll seems to have been pretty well murdered, teen angst and rebellion will never really die.

However, the critics' target is often a caricature. According to industry sales data, only 5.4 percent of fighting games were among the top-selling game genre while 30.1 percent were action-based and 17.8 percent were sports-related titles. Of those, 53 percent were rated E (for everyone), 30 percent were T (for teen) and the remaining 16 percent were rated M (for mature).

If most of the popular titles sold were rated E and T, and action-based or sports-based games were at the top of the list, the case that gaming somehow ignites violent or counterproductive behaviors in teens is weakened.

Similarly, one would believe that teens are able to purchase M-rated games more easily. But the numbers don't back that up. An FTC report demonstrates a decrease in the number of M-rated video games sold to unaccompanied adolescents. This only reinforces the fact that teens simply do not have easy access to M-rated games.

Gaming also has some tangible benefits. Video games help develop skills in reading, math and problem-solving, as the Urban Video Game Academy has been proving. Using video games as a teaching tool, the UVGA takes students in disadvantaged areas for postsecondary education and technology careers and teaches them the fundamentals of video game design and development while integrating the principles of English, math and science.

In addition, game-playing can improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Click here to view some statistics, charts and other interactives.

In the end, perhaps parents and critics simply need a better understanding of the world of games to learn that it's not something to be feared - and gamers should better understand concerns about their beloved pastimes. A 2005 study by the National Institute on Media and the Family shows that that less than half of children say their parents understand all of the ESRB ratings. An informal poll of our readers conducted by GameCore showed a similar trend that 96.5 percent of our readers believe that parents know little or nothing about video games; but as noted above, lots of parents play games themselves..

Perhaps it is safe to say that gamers are as wary of parents as parents are of their teens.

---

Want to comment on this story? Want to see what other readers think?Click here.

---