pew on internet and games

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has just released its new report,
“Let the Games Begin: Gaming technology and entertainment among college
students.” For the full text of the report, please see:
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=93. The press release is
pasted in below.

College Students and computer, video and Internet games

CHICAGO–Computer, video and online games are woven into the fabric of
everyday life for college students. And, they are more a part of college
students' social lives than many would suspect.

All of the 1,162 students surveyed on 27 campuses by the Pew Internet &
American Life Project reported they had played a video, computer or online
game at one time or another. Fully 65% of college students reported being
regular or occasional game players.

Among the more surprising and notable findings:

Students cited gaming as a way to spend more time with friends. One out of
every five (20%) gaming students felt that gaming helped them make new
friends as well as improve existing friendships.

Gaming also appears to play a surrogate role for some gamers when friends
are unavailable. Nearly two-thirds (60%) of students surveyed agreed that
gaming helped them spend time when friends were not available.

Close to half (48%) of college student gamers agreed that gaming keeps them
from studying “some”or “a lot.” In addition, about one in ten (9%) admitted
that their main motivation for playing games was to avoid studying.

One third (32%) of students surveyed admitted playing games that were not
part of the instructional activities during classes.

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this was sent to the digra list by my friend charlie who is supposed to be drinking bourbon and writing his dissertation in a small cabin int denmark this week, but is yet still online, and helping control the evil spammers so i don't have to, yay charlie