Reevaluating the impact of video games.
The evolution of the video game phenomenon is reviewed and contemporary data are presented. A survey assessing frequency and location of play and game preference was completed by 357 seventh- and eighth-grade students. In this middle-class sample, about two thirds of girls played video games at least one to two hours per week at home, but only 20% played in arcades. About 90% of boys played in the home and about 50% in arcades. Approximately half of preferred games were from one of two categories of violent games, while 2% of preferred games were educational. Parent education about the influence of the media should include recommendations to monitor game playing and influence game selection.
Funk
J B
JB
Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo 43699.
D002648:Child; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002965:Classification; D003625:Data Collection; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D010988:Play and Playthings; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012737:Sex Factors; D013664:Teaching Materials / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors; D014754:Violence