Teen girls less likely to be allowed to play hardcore video games than boys

October 10, 2007

Grils less likley to be allowed to play hardcore video games than boys A survey from PopCap.com reveals 60% of caregivers don’t let their teenage girls play hardcore video games like Halo 3 and Bioshock. Conversely, they are nearly twice as likely to allow their teenage sons access to the same games.

The final data captures from PopCap.com’s largest ever gamer survey reveals that there’s a sexist undercurrent to the results: while nearly half of caregivers with teenagers say they do not allow their teenager to play hardcore games, 60% of those caregivers are forbidding girls from playing hardcore games – compared to just 37% forbidding boys.

Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a New York-based psychologist and expert on parent-child relationships explains some of the possible reasoning for this sexism:

"Parents tend to be somewhat more protective of their daughters in what they do than they are of their sons, allowing for a bit more independence and leeway for the boys. Despite this being somewhat outdated thinking, it is a perspective still shared by many parents. But most experts agree that exposing children and adolescents to graphically explicit content should be avoided, and this applies to both genders."

This survey shows that there is a clear perception among parents and grandparents that hardcore games are more suitable for boys.

On the other hand, the survey found that caregivers are much more positive about casual video games. 80% play casual games with thier children and report various perceived benefits of play like increased coordination, cognition and stress releif.

One of the advantages of casual games is the ability for players to dip in and out as they wish, fitting the games around their lives. Instead of becoming totally immersed for hours, as is the case with many hardcore games. It is likely that this control is a primary reason that parents appear to push casual gaming. 63% of casual gaming caregivers say their kids play for four hours or less a week. Dr. Arinoldo surmises:

"While the cognitive benefits of playing casual computer games (e.g. concentration, focusing, decision-making, etc.) are present in some form for children of all ages, the stress-management benefits understandably become more significant as a child ages toward and through adolescence. From school pressures to puberty, tweens and teens certainly experience more stress, on average, than younger children. Playing casual computer games can be a good choice for parents to encourage as part of their children’s stress-management strategies."

Proving again that, while parents are becoming more open to video games in their children’s lives, the attitude that there are certain things that girls shouldn’t be exposed to is still prevalent, even with parents who think they are ‘cool’.