Gaming is Serious Business for Marketers & Agencies.

amp160Online games are an awesome phenomenon From Farmville to World of Warcraft virtual gaming is an unqualified hit with the Hooked Up audience Only 17 percent do NOT participate in online or console games Console games like X Box and Wii are growing in popularity among Internet Pioneers 68 percent play console games with half of this group spending more than an hour playing every day In contrast virtual gamers spend an average 75 minutes daily playing and console gamers play an average 80 minutes daily How do we even begin to comprehend the longterm implicationsEver since Pac Man and Pong a debate has raged over how such games affect young people Stakeholders include parents educators health professionals and other experts plus of course the gamers themselves The answer can never be black and white because the impact depends on many factors including player age number of hours spent playing and the type of gameDepending on their structure games can enhance social relationships or they can isolate the player from his or her peers There39s a big difference between a 17yearold boy who spends 20 hours a week alone playing Call of Duty an 18yearold girl who spends a few minutes daily tending her crops in Farmville and a 20yearold who occasionally plays Madden Football with his friendsIn 2009 an Iowa State University study reported that one of ten videogamers demonstrated addictive behaviors finding that gaming affected school work social development and family relationships The study further identified pathological players as those who played around 24 hours a week Players in this group also had a much higher rate of ADD and ADHD diagnosis when compared with casual gamer groupsquotWhat we mean by pathological use is that something someone is doingamp8211amp8211in this case playing video gamesamp8211amp8211is damaging to their functioning It39s not simply doing it a lot It has to harm functioning in multiple waysquot Douglas GentileScience Daily 2009Do Violent Games Beget ViolenceOne of the biggest concerns about video games is that some games particularly realistic warfare games increase violent behavior A 2000 study by the American Psychological Association found that violent video games increase aggressive thoughts feelings and behavior The study found that the impact of video games on aggression was much higher than the impact of watching violent television and movies because the video games allow the player to interact and become part of the violenceAccording to psychologist Wendy Walsh cohost of the syndicated TV show The Doctors quotthe issue stays in the public awareness and debate because we keep having new more violent more interactive versions of violent video games coming into the marketplace And the research is pretty conclusive that violent games are very dangerous for children and teenagersquotWalsh says some studies show a direct link between violent interactive games and increased aggressive behavior thought and affect acting in an intimidating way Such games also act as a stimulant increasing physiological arousal They have also been correlated to a decrease in prosocial behavior such as empathy and awareness of others39 needsAssigning Blame for ViolenceOther experts caution against blaming video games for violent actsquotWhen some tragic event happens or something surprising or important happens our society39s initial reaction is always to find a cause to pin whatever it was that happened on something else I would say that recently video games have been a particularly handy punching bag for a lot of that You could just as easily say 39Hey this person did the shooting and he read books as well39quotJose ZagalDePaul UniversityCollege of Computing and Digital MediaZagal also says it39s possible that people who are predisposed to violent behavior seek out violent video games quotIf there39s someone who39s really into gory movies and happens to also be a psychopathic criminal the question is whether that person is drawn to gory movies because they are a psychopathic criminal or are those violent movies somehow strengthening his psychopathyquotIn short it39s important to consider the context in which even violent games are played and to remember that the spectrum of games ranges from Dora the Explorer to Mortal Kombat As such it39s impossible to make a blanket statement that all video games increase violenceSocial Impact of GamingWhen people think of kids and video games they often picture an adolescent boy sitting by himself and playing for hours Dean Lorraine Branham of the SI Newhouse School at Syracuse University expands that negative image to include interconnected gamers quotactive gamers may be connected but disenfranchised There39s something antisocial in the way some of them consume gaming media and the messaging they get from games that espouse violence misogyny and other antisocial behaviors I find it troublingquotSocial Benefits of GamingHowever those concerns are becoming less troubling for others Thanks to skyrocketing popularity public awareness and technology today39s game creators offer many opportunities for socialization Many experts point out that the positive social impact of video gaming should not be ignoredquotPeople who play a lot of games tend to play them in a social context They might be playing with friends in the same place or they39re playing alone for an hour or two and then going to school and talking to their friends about what happened how to solve a certain problem Games are a form of culture and they encourage sharing and communicationquot Jose ZagalDePaul UniversityCollege of Computing and Digital MediaIn his PBS article Reality Bytes Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked MIT Professor Henry Jenkins writes that 60 percent of gamers play with friends and 33 percent play with siblings Because today39s game creators design many games for multiple players online the opportunities for socialization have increased Additionally Jenkins writes that even when people take turns as single players within larger groups the time spent cheering each other on and talking about the game is socially enhancingThe popularity of Zynga games such as Words with Friends Farmville and Mafia Wars has added another dimension to the social aspect of playing video games because the focus is interacting with other people virtually through the gameFor example in Words with Friends estimated downloads ten million plus players increase their vocabularies while competing with friends through Facebook tablets computers and smart phones One unexpected benefit of Zynga games and Angry Birds is that they appeal to all ages from teens to seniors Many parents and children enjoy playing the games togetherGames for Fun and ExerciseAnother concern about video gaming is that children and teens may not get enough physical exercise because of the time they spend online A June 2004 study published in Obesity Research showed a strong link between use of electronic games and obesity According to a WebMD article about the study every hour spent gaming doubled the risk of obesity for childrenOther people argue that the advent of active games such as the XBox and Nintendo Wii decreases the risk of obesity associated with video gaming When playing active Wii and Xbox games such as bowling and golf players move their bodies as they would if they were playing the actual game Other games such as the Wii Fit system are specifically for exercising Occupational therapists use Wii for patients of all ages And like some other games the Wii and similar active games can help improve eyehand coordinationRealistically however the fitness benefits aren39t equal to playing basketball all afternoon or running around a soccer field or a tennis court There is still valid concern about video games taking the place of outdoor activitiesBrain Drain or Brain BoosterEarly video games may have been quotbrain drainsquot but today39s market includes many educational games such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Big Brain Academy and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth GraderAn interesting study published in Computers and Human Behavior 2011 found that playing video games increased children39s creativityamp8211amp8211even when the games weren39t specifically marketed as educational Other studies tout the benefits of games that teach perseverance and problem solvingWhere Does the Time GoAs mentioned earlier a key concern is the amount of time children spend playing games and how it affects their time for other activities In 2008 The American Academy of Pediatrics AAP released guidelines stating that children should have no more than two hours total of screen time per day ie total combined time spent on video games computers and televisionA recent AAP press release states that screen timeamp8211amp8211including television and child gamesamp8211amp8211has no benefits whatsoever for infants and toddlersThis seems doubtfulAny parent with an iPad or iPhone and a toddler can tell you how quickly the child learns to navigate a television screen or even an app or two Trying to eliminate or restrict access to screens seems pointless and perhaps even likely to hamper a child39s development and ability to adapt to the Internet AgeThe argument that any screen time does children no good at all is not only moot but absurd Computers online games social media and television are advancing children39s learning and creativity in unprecedented ways Conclusion Gaming at a CrossroadsDespite the many studies and opinions on the impact of video games on young people there are too many variables to make a definitive statement about whether the impact of video games is good or bad Internet Natives are likely to spend more and more time engaged with gaming media As interactive television takes off with two and even three linked screens interest in interactive games will increaseVirtual gaming activities will also become a norm for Internet Natives 43 percent of Hooked Up Gen gamers purchase gamerelated virtual goods using virtual currencies In 2011 the global virtual gaming goods and currencies business was valued at 13 billion dollars Facebook is discovering that one of its primary growth businesses is running a virtual gaming economy controlling managing and hopefully not manipulating the value of multiple virtual currenciesCurrently males are far more likely to purchase virtual goods but females are catching up quickly An interesting sidenote among those Hooked Up Gen gamers who do not currently purchase virtual goods 80 percent say they would do so if it were possible to earn virtual currencies by watching commercials during online gamesEducators and psychologists can and will debate the merits and problems related to gaming but it39s more valuable to focus on the reality Gaming is already part of young people39s lifestyles Censorship and aggressive content controls whether they be parental or governmental will be a misdirected effortTo put this in perspective many arguments against gaming could be applied to any activity that becomes addictive for a small segment of the population A passionate stamp collector who spends hours with a magnifying glass stamp books and searching on eBay could be described as antisocialGrowing pains are inevitable as Internet Generations integrate their native games into their culture Internet Pioneers are active gamers They are also the most socialized and possibly the most welladjusted generation in history They are the best educated and according to several studies the least violent in history They are prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead Chapter 15amp160 Children of 911 More Socially Connected and Politically Active

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