Closing the Gender Gap in Online Gaming

Cohen, Aaron M - The Futurist

Computer games can serve as a gateway to the fields of technology and science. Technology's more entertaining aspects awaken youth interest and encourage careers in the field. If the gender gap in these predominantly male professions is going to close, then gaming may provide a solid means of boosting computer technology's appeal among females.

At present, boys spend much more time on average playing video games than girls do. There are a number of reasons for this, but a recent study by Michigan State University adds a new and unexpected explanation to the list: time-management differences.

In the study, females reported having less free time, which they budgeted in smaller increments. Males who played video games reported more leisure time overall, enjoyed over sustained periods of time , while females spent more time occupied with other activities. So, women are less likely to play time-intensive online games such as World of Warcraft not because the fantasy elements don't appeal to them, but because they don't feel they have enough free time to invest in seemingly endless quests and missions.

Researchers Jillian Winn and Carrie Heater report that the survey data also revealed gender-specific play patterns. Boys have longer attention spans when it comes to games, while girls tend to enjoy playing for shorter periods of time. Games that can be more easily postponed or played incrementally hold greater appeal for them.

This may help explain why casual games are much more popular among females. These relatively simple games can be played in bite-sized chunks of time (around 5-10 minutes) on one's iPhone while commuting on the subway or waiting in line. Interestingly, they appeal the most to women over 30 - those least likely to have spent most of their youth in front of a game console, as the study points out.

Casual games account for only a small percentage of the market, but the Michigan State study suggests that the target audience for video games should not be limited to any one demographic. If more games were designed with women's needs in mind (and if more females were developing the games and creating player-generated content), then more females would be gaming.

"Game Dame" blogger and podcaster Kate Kemp, who covers video game news, reviews, and tech trends, recommends that more designers incorporate a "save" function that allows players to pause a game at any point. She says, "I don't think women have a problem spending 30 hours to get to an ultimate goal, but I do think they need to be able to walk away from a game at any time without any consequences. This simple change puts the gamer back in control of how much time they want to spend per gaming session."

Kemp also finds reason to believe that gender equality in the field may emerge as the digital generation comes of age.

"My generation, the '80s babies, were some of the first ones brought up in households where both mom and dad were gamers and video games were integrated into what we did for entertainment. And the kids my generation raises will be even more in tune with technology," she says. "When I was in school, we had one class that involved computers and it was an elective. But today, computers and technology are incorporated into every subject. It's becoming part of the norm and it's not gender exclusive. With every new generation, I think we're going to get further away from a male-saturated gaming culture and move toward one that's equally populated by women."

The result may be more equal representation in technology-oriented fields.

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