Gaming in Adult Education

Gamer Characteristics

At this point, egames have substantially penetrated U. S. households. For console games alone, 71 percent of households with boys or girls owned video consoles, and 80 percent of households with teenagers owned consoles (Neilsen, 2007). The majority of adults play video and computer games, and about a fifth of them play daily, usually on computers, according to a 2008 study (Lenhart, Jones, & Macgill, 2008). The researchers also found that gaming decreases with age (the average age of the RPG player is 26 years old), but senior citizen gamers play the most often because they have more free time. About 55 percent of gamers are male, and the percentage of urban players slightly outnumbers suburban and rural players. Gamers generally have more education and are more likely to be parents, but no significant difference was found for ethnicity or socio-economic status.

Today’s college student is likely to have played computer and video games, and increasingly role-playing games (RPG). According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project survey (Jones, 2003), these games have become an integral part of college daily life. One-fifth of those surveyed stated that gaming helped students make and keep friends, and that it comprises part of a larger multitasking environment. These students see gaming as a break from studying, another form of entertainment. These students are also seeking college majors in gaming so they can get paid for what they like to do recreationally (Farmer, 2005). Increasingly, universities are offering such programs, particularly in light of industry demand for such trained employees.