Disqus
Well this is definitely a good story if you are having a hard time convinving your parent/relative/babysitter/other person-in-charge that you should spend more time in front of the TV with a controller in your hands:
Pew Internet & American Life Project has found nearly all American teens–97 percent–ages 12-17 play computer, Web, console, or mobile games. Teens are also playing these games with relative frequency and duration. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of teen gamers play games every day …. In a surprise twist, the study has found that video games are actually beneficial to teens …. the full report (PDF) shows that gaming and community helps kids become more civic minded, encourages interest in charity and politics, and increases socialization.
Yes yes yes! That’s what we want to hear! The media is often full of very negative reports about gaming (one particular story springs to mind from the last weeks worth of news), so it’s good to see research being done to show the benefits too – a balanced view is a wonderful thing.
Of course, some simulator games are a rather easy-sell for benefits to kids, since they are supposed to simulate reality. Button-mashing games have long been said to boost reflexes, but perhaps we should also be considering the social angle too – particularly with Mobile games, since the personalisation and connected-world is integrated in to the experience. The bottom line is that gaming ain’t all bad, despite what people think.
[Via: news.cnet.com]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
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Ben Robinson
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