I've focused recently on girls and gaming, so I want to shift my attention to boys. (I tried writing that sentence five different ways, and settled for the one that made me sound the least like Uncle Pervy).
Hear me now and believe me later. The December issue of The Atlantic Magazine features a short piece called Do Gamers Dream of Electric Abs? (Phillip K. Dick lives!) spotlighting a research study that suggests boys who play games and read gaming mags have a significantly higher desire for big muscles.
That little boy on the couch with his Nintendo may look unathletic, but inside he’s thinking about building muscles—big muscles. Two researchers at the University of Illinois surveyed 181 boys (average age: 8.77) and found that young white males who read video-game magazines had an even stronger “desire for muscle mass” than those who read only sports or muscle-and-fitness magazines. Their desire to get pumped up may be explained by the exaggerated bulges—and powers—of video-game characters. This finding did not hold for young blacks, even though they tend to be more avid game players—perhaps, the authors speculate, because most heroes in the video-game magazines are white.
More of the same old mass media stereotyping from The Atlantic, but the study does raise some interesting questions about the impact of video games on boys and self-image. I can only hope similar studies are being done on the effects of television, film, ESPN, print and video advertising, peer group pressure, parenting, and several other factors I can think of.
I am genuinely interested in solid research on gaming and adolescent behavior, but not when it is isolated from other powerful influences. I also want to see more research devoted to the effects of video games on critical thinking skills in adolescents of both sexes. My son is a Runescape master economist, and I know I had absolutely nothing to do with that.
The study was published by Kristen Harrison and Bradley J. Bond at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. More information is available here. Thanks to my pal Josh for the Atlantic link.
