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Lately, the media has portrayed video game players as obsessive maniacs who turn into psycho killers. A recent study conducted by the Peter D. Hart Research Associates shows that many well-adjusted parents play video games with and without their children.
According to the study, 35% of parents in the U.S. play video games. 47% of those are women and 80% of the parent gamers play video games with their children. The average age of a gaming parent was thirty-seven. Thirteen years was the average length a parent had been playing games. 36% of these parents introduced their children to video games and 27% were introduced to games through their children.
The study also revealed that 85% of voting parents believe that parents should be the ones taking responsibility for their children’s exposure to video games (not Jack Thompson, as he may like to believe).
“[T]his research suggests that proposals to regulate video games may backfire with American voters who, unlike some elected officials, appear to fully understand that they should control the entertainment that comes into their homes,” Doug Lowenstein, the President of the ESA, stated.
When reading these statistics one must remember that the ESA is the one who published the survey, meaning that the statistics may fall in their favor somewhat.