Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Study: Internet Dependency Alters Human Brain

Internet addiction has for the first time been linked with changes in the brain similar to those seen in people addicted to alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. In a groundbreaking study, researchers used MRI scanners to reveal abnormalities in the brains of adolescents who spent many hours on the internet, to the detriment of their social and personal lives. The finding could throw light on other behavioral problems and lead to the development of new approaches to treatment, researchers said.

An estimated 5 to 10 per cent of internet users are thought to be addicted – meaning they are unable to control their use. The majority are games players who become so absorbed in the activity they go without food or drink for long periods and their education, work and relationships suffer.

Henrietta Bowden Jones, consultant psychiatrist at Imperial College, London, who runs Britain's only NHS clinic for internet addicts and problem gamblers, said: "The majority of people we see with serious internet addiction are gamers – people who spend long hours in roles in various games that cause them to disregard their obligations. I have seen people who stopped attending university lectures, failed their degrees or their marriages broke down because they were unable to emotionally connect with anything outside the game."

Researchers in China scanned the brains of 17 adolescents diagnosed with "internet addiction disorder" who had been referred to the Shanghai Mental Health Centre, and compared the results with scans from 16 of their peers.

The results showed impairment of white matter fibres in the brain connecting regions involved in emotional processing, attention, decision making and cognitive control. Similar changes to the white matter have been observed in other forms of addiction to substances such as alcohol and cocaine.

Source: The Indpendent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/addicted-scientists-show-how-internet-dependency-alters-the-human-brain-6288344.html

The Apple of Their Eye

A recent Nielsen survey shows kids’ holiday gaming and electronics appetites are whet by a number of top-selling Apple devices. The Apple iPad is the most desired consumer electronic among kids ages 6-12 for holiday 2011. In fact, the iPad increases its stronghold, with 44% of kids expressing interest in the product, up from 31% in 2010. Two other popular Apple devices, iPod Touch and iPhone, round out kids’ top three, with computers and other tablet brands each appealing to a quarter of younger consumers.

Many kids will also ask for gaming devices this year, with two products that offer unique gaming technologies: Nintendo 3DS, and Kinect for Xbox 360, leading the way. Given the 3DS’ spring 2011 release date and the surge in Kinect interest versus last year, parents can expect both devices to be frequently requested this holiday season. Beyond these, older Nintendo DS models continue to resonate with young gamers, while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 edge out the Nintendo Wii as the most desired gaming consoles.

Source: Center for Media Research
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/163036/the-apple-of-their-eye.html#reply

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Sets New One Day Sales Record

With the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Activision has broken the records set by the franchise’s previous outing, Call of Duty: Black Ops.  The game has sold 6.5 million units in North America and the United Kingdom in only 24 hours, with an estimated sell-through of $400 million.  Comparatively, Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 had one-day sell-through totals of $360 million and $310 million, respectively.

Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia believes MW3 could generate between $700 and $750 million during the first week, as compared with Black Ops' $650 million in sales during its first 5 days.

"We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories," said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc.

"Call of Duty is more than a game. It's become a major part of the pop cultural landscape. It is a game that core enthusiasts love, but that also consistently draws new people into the medium. It is the most intense, adrenaline pumping entertainment experience anywhere," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing.

Source: Industrygamers
http://www.industrygamers.com/news/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-sells-65-million-in-one-day/

Mobile Gaming Rises Rapidly Among Kids and Teens

Traditionally, gaming has been for kids, and despite the demographic and psychographic shifts that mean mom (and even grandma) is now likely to play a social game, children have hardly given up the video game pastime.

According to research from The NPD Group, gaming growth among children under age 17 is speeding up. The population of kids ages 2 to 17 increased 1.5% in the US since 2009, the researcher reported, while the gaming population of that age group has grown almost 13% during the same period. This year, 91% of children and teens will play video games, up from 82% in 2009.

The growth in gaming may be partially due to increased usage of smartphones and other mobile devices by children and teens. The NPD Group study indicates that the share of kids and teens playing mobile games climbed 30 percentage points from 2009 to 2011. eMarketer estimates that 15% of children under 11 currently own a mobile phone—that number will rise to 22% by 2015.

Source: eMarketer
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008671

Study Links Swearing on TV to Teen Aggression

A new study finds that the more profanity teens are exposed to through television and video games, the more accepting they are of swearing and the more likely they are to use profanity themselves. Those kids who swore more were also more likely to engage in physical aggression.

"Profanity is kind of like a stepping stone," said study researcher Sarah Coyne, of Brigham Young University. "You don't go to a movie, hear a bad word, and then go shoot somebody. But when youth both hear and then try profanity out for themselves it can start a downward slide toward more aggressive behavior."

The researchers found links between the amount of swearing in video games and television and how often the students used profanity themselves; participants who used more swear language were more likely than other students to exhibit physical and relational violence. However, because the study is correlational it can only show that swearing on TV is indirectly linked to aggression, not whether one causes the other.

Source: Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/17/swearing-on-tv-linked-to-teen-aggression/

91% of Kids (Ages 2 - 17) Are Video Gamers

According to Kids and Gaming 2011, the latest report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, 91 percent of kids (approximately 64 million) ages 2-17 are gaming in the U.S., an increase of 9 points when compared to 2009.

Since 2009, the population growth of kids ages 2-17 increased 1.54 percent in the U.S., while the gaming population of that age group has grown 12.68 percent. This growth in kids’ gaming population is far outpacing the growth experienced by the population of 2-17 year olds in the country.

While the percentage of kids gaming has grown significantly across all age groups, the fastest growth has been among kids ages 2-5, with an increase of 17 points in gaming incidence when compared to 2009. The other segments driving this growth are females and teens ages 15-17.

While gaming on most devices has grown for 2-17 year olds, platforms such as mobile devices and computers have experienced the most significant increases in gaming activity. For example, since 2009, gaming on mobile devices is up from 8 percent to 38 percent, while gaming on traditional portable gaming devices experienced more modest gains, up from 38 percent to 45 percent.

The impressive growth experienced on mobile devices has been driven in large part by the availability of new devices on the market such as tablets, iOS and Android-based smartphones, as well as the abundance of content for these devices in the form of free and paid apps.

Source: NPD Group
http://www.npdgroup.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/pressreleases/pr_111011

Top 20 Games to Watch for Holiday 2011

Which video game titles top gamers’ wish lists this year? Nielsen’s Top 20 Games to Watch reveals the most anticipated games of the 2011 holiday season, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the most coveted among active U.S. gamers. The list was developed by examining a variety of consumer measures from Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking survey, including the top five titles active gamers are considering for purchase.

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

2. Gears of War 3

3. Madden NFL 12

4. Assassin's Creed: Revelations

5. Batman: Arkham City

6. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

7. Battlefield 3

8. Just Dance 3

9. NBA 2K12

10. Need for Speed: The Run

11. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

12. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

13. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

14. FIFA Soccer 12

15. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

16. Dead Island

17. Kinect Sports: Season 2

18. Resistance 3

19. Dance Central 2

20. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

While Action/Adventure games hold the most spots in the Top 20, the list is a testament to the diverse interests of today’s gamers—from the intense action of First Person Shooters like Square Enix’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, to the energetic enthusiasm of Music / Rhythm games such as Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3, to the epic sense of adventure in Bethesda’s RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Sports and racing titles like 2K’s NBA 2K12 and EA’s Need For Speed: The Run are represented as well.

Source: Nielsen
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/top-20-games-to-watch-gamers-make-their-holiday-wish-lists/

Video Gaming Teens Sleep Less

Teens who play a lot of video games are likely to sleep less than the eight to nine hours a night recommended for the age group, researchers said.

Researchers said that an analysis of data on 16,000 teens also found that youths who reported sleeping less than seven hours a night did not get enough exercise, which could also impact their health.

And not getting enough sleep is detrimental for all -- and has a particularly negative effect on teens, added Caris Fitzgerald, a psychiatry resident at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who led the study.

For teens, a poor night's sleep can bring on a slew of ill effects, including low energy, poor concentration, moodiness, a greater tendency to act on impulse and more suicidal thoughts.

The researchers were unable to conclude there was a cause-effect relationship between sleep and online gaming or sport, but Fitzgerald pointed to "some evidence that reducing media exposure and increasing physical activity could increase the amount teens sleep."

The study did have one piece of good news for teens: watching television does not appear to affect sleep time.

Source: AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jgt1JD5WOsKuaO5vSXngwM7fmnQA

More Media Use at a Younger Age

A new study finds that most American kids are media users by their first birthday; by age six, they are going online without supervision; by age 11, half have their own cell phones.

For its 2011 LMX Family study, Ipsos OTX MediaCT surveyed 2,080 American parents and their kids aged six to 12, as well as 715 parents of preschoolers aged 0 to five about the children's attitudes to media and their usage.

More than half of the parents of preschoolers said their kids would be allowed to play games on mobile phones or consoles, watch online video and listen to music on multiple devices when they were five years old. By age six, they'll be allowed to go online on their own.

For six- to 12-year-olds, more than one quarter of the time they were awake was screen time. Moreover, their media time rose substantially in the past year, from 4.9 hours to 5.3 hours each day, thanks mostly to video games.

By age 11, more than half of kids have their own mobile phones; parents like feeling they can always get in touch with their children. They're not above reading the kids' text messages, either. In fact, 81 percent of girls and 72 percent of boys have their texts snooped by Mom or Dad.

When it comes to consuming media as a family, watching TV is still the prime activity. Maybe that's why 70 percent of parents will let their six- to twelve-year-olds watch a PG-13 movie with them, although 26 percent let Junior watch them on his own.

Source: ClickZ
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2069792/kids-study-media-age

 

 

Video Gaming with Parents - Good for Daughters

According to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, gaming may be good for teen girls' mental health — so long as they play with their parents.

Although most past research has consistently shown that video games can be detrimental to teens' mental well-being, the new study of 287 families by researchers from Brigham Young University suggests that the nature of play makes a difference. Researchers found that girls aged 11 to 16 who played video games with a parent reported better behavior, more feelings of familial closeness and less aggression than girls who played alone or with friends.

"It's the face-to-face time, the interaction, that matters," lead author and psychology professor Sarah Coyne told the Wall Street Journal. "Video games are kind of an adolescent thing. When a parent says I'm going to sit down and do what you're going to do, that sends a different message entirely."

However, the study found that while both boys and girls spent an equal amount of time gaming with a parent, boys didn't reap the same behavioral or mental benefits. The authors theorized that because boys play more video games than girls overall, any time spent playing with a parent likely accounted for a smaller, less meaningful percentage of their overall screen time.

Source: Time
http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/01/why-parents-should-play-video-games-with-their-daughters/