Breaking the Stereotype: The Case of Online Gaming

Despite the rise of computer games as a leisure phenomenon, there has been relatively little research into this area. Furthermore, almost all of the research to date has concentrated on arcade or console games. More recently, the Internet has become a new medium in which players can play videogames. Since there is no published research in this area, some "benchmark" data on which future research can build was collected from two online gaming fan sites. Sociodemographics showed that the majority of players were male (approximately 85%). Over 60% of players were older than 19 years. The data provide clear evidence that the game clientele is very much an adult profile and suggest a different picture to the stereotypical image of an adolescent online gamer. The stereotype of the typical online player being a socially withdrawn young male with limited sex role identity appears to be misplaced.