Gaming has come a long way over the years, in both market size and social acceptance. According to a new survey from Pew Research Center, almost half of the adults in the United States have played video games, and one in ten consider themselves to be gamers. This means that plenty of people are playing video games, but the overall opinion of them in the United States is still pretty mixed. While a good chunk of Americans believe video games have benefits, the majority still believe that most, if not all, video games are a waste of time.
In recent years, major debates have emerged about the societal impact of video games and the effect they have on the people who play them. Among the disputes: whether men predominate in gaming; whether games portray women and minorities poorly; whether violent games promote aggressive behavior; and whether games encourage positive attributes such as problem-solving skills, communication and teamwork. About half of American adults (49%) “ever play video games on a computer, TV, game console, or portable device like a cellphone,” and 10% consider themselves to be “gamers.” A majority of American adults (60%) believe that most people who play video games are men – a view that is shared by 57% of women who themselves play video games. But the data illustrates that in some ways this assumption is wrong: A nearly identical share of men and women report ever playing video games (50% of men and 48% of women). However, men are more than twice as likely as women to call themselves “gamers” (15% vs. 6%). And among those ages 18 to 29, 33% of men say the term “gamer” describes them well, more than three times the proportion of young women (9%) who say the same.