Understanding Digital Games and Family Life
September 13, 2016
Once a novelty restricted to arcades, video games have become a deeply embedded part of our lives. As digital game platforms have become increasingly more affordable and more accessible over the past forty years, it has become clear that games aren’t just fun to play, but can motivate people of all ages to learn more deeply and to improve productivity.
As part of our Families and Media Project, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center conducted a survey of nearly 700 parents whose 4-13-year old children play video games. While other past national surveys have explored specific facets of children’s or adults’ gameplay, our survey attempts to learn more about the role that video games play in family life and routines.
We are pleased to present this data as a series of infographics, each featuring a particular facet of video games and family life. Here, we share what parents have reported about the places children play video games, how often and how long they play during typical sessions, and the kinds of devices they are likely to use.
Stay tuned for more installments of this series over the next few months.
Learn more about the survey and the methodology here.
