Video Games Representations of Race, Gender, and Age

In this study, a large-scale content analysis of characters in video games was employed to answer questions about their representations of gender, race and age in comparison to the US population. The study was conducted in a manner in which the results were able to be analyzed in proportion to the games that were actually played by the public, and thus allowed the first statements able to be generalized about the content of popular video games. The results show a systematic over-representation of males, white and adults and a systematic under-representation of females, Hispanics, Native Americans, children and the elderly. Overall, the results are similar to those found in television research. The implications for identity, cognitive models, cultivation and game research are discussed.

Williams, D., Martins, N., Consalvo, M., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). The virtual census: representations of gender, race and age in video games. New Media and Society, 11(5), 815-834. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444809105354.

Online Gaming Behavior and Teens

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released the results of the first large-scale study examining the relationship among specific aspects of gaming and teen civic activities and commitments. The research found that playing games with others in person was related to civic and political outcomes, but playing with others online had no relationship to these outcomes. Teens who participated in social interaction related to a game-such as commenting on websites or contributing to discussion boards-were more engaged civically and politically. The study found that 97% of teens ages 12-17 play computer, web, portable, or console games and that 99% of boys and 94% of girls play video games. Most teens (76%) play the games with others; 65% play with people in the room with them, and 27% play with people they connect with on the internet. Nearly half of the teens playing online games do so with people they know in their offline lives.

Lenhart, A., Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., Macgill, A. R., Evans, C., & Vitak, J. (2008). Teens, video games, and civics: Teens’ gaming experiences are diverse and include significant social interaction and civic engagement. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED525058.pdf