Who Is Playing Games?

Almost all girls and boys play video games. Boys report playing games more often and for longer periods of time than girls.   

The stereotype that only boys play video games is far from true in 2008, as girls constitute a large (if not equal) percentage of total gamers: 99% of boys play games, as do 94% of girls. While almost all girls as well as almost all boys play video games, boys typically play games with greater frequency and duration than girls. Boys are significantly more likely to play games daily than girls, with 39% of boys reporting daily game play and 22% of girls reporting the same. Boys are also more likely than girls to play games on any given day (60% of boys did, compared with 39% of girls), and when boys do play, they’re playing for longer periods of time. Among teens who played games “yesterday,” boys and girls are just as likely to report that they played for an hour or less. Boys, however, are twice as likely to report playing for two hours or more each day, with 34% of boys playing for two hours or more per day; 18% of girls play games for that amount of time.