San Francisco - A national study in the US has concluded
that computer games foster social interaction and civic engagement
and that there was no evidence that they incited users to violence.
The study released Wednesday by the Pew Internet & American Life
Project found that nearly all teens play video games and that their
games' activity has become a major component of their overall social
experience.
'This report does a lot of myth-busting,' said Amanda Lenhart, the
Pew senior researcher who authored the study. 'It's not just about
14-year-old boys sitting alone in the basement blowing things up.'
The most surprising finding of the study was how all-encompassing
video games are today, Lenhart said.
'We don't see economic inequalities, we don't see racial
differences,' she said. 'We see are some slight variations by gender
and by age, but that's about it.'
The report said it was 'the first large-scale study to examine the
relationship between specific gaming experiences and civic outcomes.'
'For most teens, gaming is a social activity and a major component
of their overall social experience. 65 per cent of game-playing teens
play with other people who are in the room with them,' according to
the study.
The study said 99 per cent of boys and 94 per cent of girls played
video games, while 90 per cent of parents said they played video
games with their children. The figures were no doubt boosted by the
incredible success of Nintendo's Wii video game console, and also by
the spread of casual online gaming, in which users can play quick and
simple games online.
The study noted that the most popular game played by US teens was
Guitar Hero, in which users play a plastic guitar device by hitting
correct note sequences of songs. The other most popular games were
Halo 3, Madden NFL, Solitaire, and Dance Dance Revolution.
The Pew report is based on a telephone survey of 1,102 teenagers
ages 12 to 17 between November 1 and Febuary 5. The margin of error
is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
SureSep 17th, 2008 - 22:26:17
and every study done by the meat and dairy industry show that eating meat and dairy are good for you.
Curiously every study not done by the industry shows exactly the opposite.
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