Boys and Their Electronic Games
Tags: boys, technology
I recently posted on children who live in books. What about boys and their love of electronic games? We seem far less appreciative of time spent with noses in handheld DXs than in paperbacks. When is it too much? Can it be addictive?
This was the topic of interest in the latest newsletter of “boy expert” Barry MacDonald. I recommend you read the newsletter and subscribe if you’re raising boys.
7 Responses to “Boys and Their Electronic Games”
Suze
Great timing as I was just going to be looking for reading material on raising boys. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa Stroyan
Thanks for posting these. (I saw your twitter 🙂 I really liked his overall approach and enjoyed reading this take on video games. Lawrence Cohen of Playful Parenting, a favorite author of mine, talks about the approach of joining kids in aggressive play so that you can figure out what’s going on underneath and connect with them around it, and the harm of dismissing / denying it, and I never thought about applying the same thought to video games. Wow!
Karen
Has anybody had trouble accessing the website http://www.mentoringboys.com? I would love to read the newsletter and have a look at the site but can’t get it to open!
Alyson Schafer
I have had a few people say they can’t follow that link – but I am not having any trouble when I click through. Weird eh? Here is the link on its own:
http://www.mentoringboys.com/newsletter/NewsJuly08.pdf
Hopefully that works!
Alyson
Karen
That did the trick! Thanks Alyson.
Cary Moretti
I just came across this post on Slashdot and thought I would share: http://games.slashdot.org/games/08/09/16/2145236.shtml
mcgrew writes with news that a study done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project has found game playing is all but universal among teens ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726230/ ), and it provides a “significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement.” 97% of teens responding to the survey said they played games (75% played weekly or more often), and roughly two-thirds of teens use games as a social experience. The full report (PDF – http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Games_and_Civics_Report_FINAL.pdf ) and the questionnaire with answer data (PDF – http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIAL%20Gaming%20FINAL%20Topline.pdf ) are both available for viewing. From the report: “Youth who take part in social interaction related to the game, such as commenting on websites or contributing to discussion boards, are more engaged civically and politically. Youth who play games where they are part of guilds are not more civically engaged than youth who play games alone.”
Cary Moretti
At the risk of becoming a “one issue” parent, I thought I would make a second post here. Another study on “gamers” just out from Ipsos (and IGN Entertainment, possible bias there) showing that those who play games are more active, more social, and more “valuable” consumers than those who do not. Details in their press release: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=4140