This will be of interest to many Unit Structures readers – the Pew Internet and American Life project has released a new report on the gaming behaviors of young adults. The report was led by Amanda Lenhart, who has done excellent work studying teen use of social networks and social media. Notably, this report was a joint effort, coordinated between Pew and the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative.
Amanda introduces the report over at MacArthur’s Spotlight blog:
I was sitting in my friend’s living room a few weeks back, watching his three daughters play with the family’s Wii. Bart Simpson was trying, repeatedly, to leap over a vat of what looked like boiling liquid. The three sisters, elementary and junior high aged, were all engaged with the game and each other, talking, sharing strategies for clearing the river and advancing to the next part of the game.
In many way these girls are living examples of some of the main findings of a new research report issued today by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and Mills College, supported by the MacArthur Foundation that takes a first look at teenagers, their video gaming habits and how their gaming experiences, both in the game and around the game are yielding opportunities for social interactions and engagement with their community.
Sure to be a must-read – download the PDF here.
Fred Stutzman is a doctoral student, researcher and teaching fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science. He studies how people use social media.
