EAST LANSING, Mich., April 2 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say although boys spend twice as much time playing video games as girls, the gap is closing because more games are designed for girls.
Researchers at Michigan State University surveyed more than 1,000 fifth, eighth and eleventh graders, as well as university students in Michigan and Indiana.
They found kids tend to play video games more than they watch television. Eighth graders spent the most time playing games in both genders, with boys averaging 23 hours a week and girls 12 hours.
Males of college age spend the least time playing video games, averaging 16 hours a week, while among girls, 11th graders spend the least time, at six hours a week.
Females consistently prefer classic board games, card-dice games, quiz-trivia games, arcade games and puzzle games, the researchers reported. Males prefer fighters, shooters, sports, fantasy role-playing games, action adventure games and strategy games.
Gender differences in electronic game playing are considered important because early involvement with technology opens up opportunities for future entry into high paying, high technology jobs, they said.
