After a day of dirty diapers and “Dora the Explorer,” of laundry and homework time, when her four kids are finally asleep, Sarah Ninesling begins roaming the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., fighting mutants to help save the survivors of a nuclear war.
The 30-year-old stay-at-home mom from New York’s Long Island plays “Fallout 3” and other games like “World of Warcraft” and “The Lord of the Rings Online.” She plays every day, sometimes past midnight, to escape and relax and feel a sense of accomplishment.
“You are never going to play a schlep,” she said. “You are always going to be a hero.”
Ninesling is not alone. More than half of American adults play video games and one in five play just about every day, according to a survey released Sunday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The survey of 2,054 U.S. adults was conducted late last year, with a margin of error of about 2 percent.
People from all walks of life play, though younger adults are far more likely to play than seniors, proof that video games are mainstream entertainment for the generations that grew up with them. In all, 81 percent of respondents between 18 and 29 said they play games, compared with 23 percent of people 65 and older.
Another Pew survey this fall found that nearly every teenager — 97 percent — is a gamer.
“As various people become more accustomed to spending their entertainment time playing games, we will continue to see this spread throughout society,” said Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at Pew. “There are people who talk about games as a new genre, a new art form.”
The gender gap between gamers was not what would be predicted by old stereotypes painting video game fans as young men who need to get outside more. Fifty percent of women and 55 percent of men play video games.
Video game companies are increasingly trying to cater to women and families. In recent years, they have pushed to expand their audience through “casual” games, ones that are easy to pick up and take less time to master. Nintendo Co. has enjoyed perhaps the greatest success — its Wii gaming console, launched in 2006, is still in such high demand it was recently sold out on Best Buy’s Web site.
A surprising finding in Pew’s report was the discrepancy between the education levels of gamers and non-gamers. While video games may not make you smarter, a college education means you’re more likely to play them. Some 57 percent of respondents who went to at least some college said they play games, compared with 51 percent of high school graduates and just 40 percent of people who have less than a high school education. Lenhart said there is no obvious reason for the difference.
The survey also found that parents with young children and teenagers are big gamers, though a love of video games is not necessarily a result of parenting. Rather, these parents tend to be younger than parents with adult children, and are thus more likely to play.
In all, 66 percent of parents or guardians of children under 17 play video games, far more than the 47 percent of adults without kids that age. But it’s not the offspring who are dragging Mom and Dad in front of the PlayStation: Only 31 percent of parents with teenagers play video games with their kids.
Ninesling, whose kids are 2, 4, 5 and 9, may play a lot of computer games, but she’s strict about how much time the children spend in front of the screen: They have up to an hour each day to play the Wii, and they get at most half an hour on the computer, and not even every day.
“It’s hypocritical, I guess,” she said with a laugh.
Part of the lure of video games is the opportunity to interact with a story, to change the narrative if you want. The ending of “Fallout 3” depends on the choices the player makes throughout the game. Ninesling finds that interactivity more appealing than sitting in front of a television.
“Real life can suck, and games are designed not to,” she said. “That’s why it’s important for most people.”
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More