Ned Potter is the science correspondent for ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson." He has reported on such topics as space exploration, the human genome and climate change.
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Game On
September 18, 2008 4:27 PM
If video gaming is really as big as we're told -- with 40 percent of American adults and 83 percent of teenagers reported by the Entertainment Software Association to be playing -- then do the players fit the stereotypes that have gone on for years? Maybe not, according to a new paper by researchers at the University of Southern California, the Palo Alto Research Center, and the University of Delaware.
The researchers, Dmitri Williams, Nick Yee and Scott Caplan, queried 7,000 players of EverQuest II, which you may know to be one of the most popular of MMOs, or massively multiplayer online games. (Our picture is from World of Warcraft, but the results may have been similar.) Were the players the glassy-eyed couch potatoes of lore?
In a word, no. The survey group reported an average Body Mass Index of 25.19 -- slightly higher than the 18-25 that most doctors would recommend, but well below the American average of 28. They said they were getting exercise once or twice a week -- again, doctors might wish for more, but that's still higher than the general population.
On the other hand, gamers reported more depression and substance abuse than the American public overall, and the researchers don't know why. "Did game play cause the mental health outcomes or vice versa?" they ask.
We've known, and reported, that the average age of gamers has been rising; nearly a quarter of them are over 50. Other bits of data: Minorities didn't play as much. Gamers said they were less religious than non-players.
The paper is published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and you can find it HERE. Hat tip to New Scientist, which has a digest version HERE.
September 18, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (4)
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Hmm, I quite playing, got a bit happier, yet more rotund. Guess I'll play, exercise, and do something that makes me happy. It is neat that the stereotypes are being destroyed. Some of them are quite stupid.
Posted by: Lawrence | Sep 18, 2008 5:22:57 PM
the gamers I knew who did drugs and were thin, were thin mainly because they spent their money on the drugs rather than on food (and they were in their 20s, the older ones who did drugs and had families were fatter, which now as an adult I report those people to the police, it was harder when I was younger to know what to do in those situations). the 20 year olds were avoiding their parents a lot so they didn't eat much at home. living that kind of lifestyle is depressing, but I would also blame bad parenting for that too, it starts by ignoring them when they're young in the first place and use video games and tvs as babysitters
Posted by: guest | Sep 18, 2008 9:32:01 PM
oh yeah, those people that fit that also didn't like to work, they stole a lot to support their habits, career criminals
Posted by: guest | Sep 18, 2008 9:33:34 PM
I think this depends on the definition of the word "gamers". How much time spent playing games makes one a gamer? Is a gamer one who plays against the computer or against other people? Is a gamer on who plays on-line or off-line?
Or does this apply only to habitual game playing?
Since retirement I play tactical sims against computer opponents for about 10 to 15 hours a week. A pleasant way to spend evenings and exercise my mind when I don't feel like reading. Am I a gamer?
Posted by: Quietman | Sep 19, 2008 11:18:42 AM
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