WHOS PLAYING VIDEO GAMES NOW?
• GAMING AND THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC • VIDEO AND COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION • THE TEACHING POWER OF VIDEO GAMES • FAMILY SETTINGS WHO’S PLAYING VIDEO GAMES NOW? Each year more kids play more video games for more hours. This is the most important trend in video games, one that has remained consistent with every new Report Card. Over the last ten years, video games have become one of the most prevalent and popular forms of entertainment. In the mid-nineties, fourth-grade girls were playing video games at home for 4.5 hours per week and boys for 7.1 hours per week. Our most recent data from third- to fifth-graders shows that boys now play 13.5 and girls play them for nearly 6 hours each week. In other words, in the past decade, the average child has significantly increased the amount of time he or she spends playing video games. And the extreme cases, according to anecdotal reports, far exceed these already large numbers. The latest research shows the percentage of homes with children that have
