'Sexist Undercurrent' in Parents' Approval of Hardcore Video Games - Study

October 10, 2007 | By: James Brightman

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A new study shows that parents/grandparents are far more likely to allow boys to play hardcore video games than girls. In general parents were much more accepting of casual video games for children of all ages. More within..

A recent survey conducted by Information Solutions Group on behalf of casual game maker PopCap Games highlighted some interesting parental perceptions about video games and casual games. The study looked at nearly 7,500 adult respondents, 31 percent of whom indicated they had children or grandchildren under age 18 who play casual games in their home.

While a large majority (72 percent) of parents and grandparents who play casual games, such as puzzle and word games, said they do not allow their kids or grandkids to play hardcore video games, these "family gamers" do allow their children/grandchildren to play casual games. Furthermore, 80 percent said they play casual games with them.

Even more interesting, however, is the gender bias that was found in the survey responses. 48 percent of parents/grandparents of children aged 14 and up said they do not allow their child/grandchild play hardcore games, but 60 percent forbid girls from playing hardcore games compared to 37 percent forbidding boys.

This is really just a result of our societal norms, explained Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a Stony Brook, New York-based psychologist of 25 years. "Overall, boys do tend to be more active and aggressive than girls, and their choices for play activities are no different. It is generally considered more acceptable for boys to engage in more action-oriented and even somewhat violent activities (such as contact sports) than it is for girls," he said.

"In addition, parents often tend to be somewhat more protective of their daughters in what they do than they are of their sons, allowing for a bit more independence and leeway for the boys. This is somewhat outdated thinking, but obviously a perspective shared by many parents even today. But most experts agree that exposing children and adolescents to graphically explicit content of a sexual or extremely violent nature should be avoided, and this applies to both genders."

While many parents were found to be wary of allowing their kids to play hardcore games, most reacted positively regarding casual games, citing numerous benefits. For those aged nine and under they cited hand-eye coordination/manual dexterity (28 percent), learning skills � pattern recognition, resource allocation, spelling, etc. (24 percent), mental workouts/cognitive exercise (11 percent), and positive affirmation/confidence building (11 percent). For kids ten and up parents cited stress relief/relaxation (26 percent), hand-eye coordination/manual dexterity (22 percent) and learning (17 percent).

"While the cognitive benefits of playing casual computer games (e.g. concentration, focusing, decision-making, etc.) are present in some form for children of all ages, the stress-management benefits understandably become more significant as a child ages toward and through adolescence," commented Dr. Arinoldo. "From school pressures to puberty, tweens and teens certainly experience more stress, on average, than younger children. Playing casual computer games can be a good choice for parents to encourage as part of their children's stress-management strategies."