BREAKING NEWS: Lots Of Kids Play Video Games

The appropriately titled research group Common Sense Media reports that the majority of young children have played video games.

The research paper Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use In America, which is based on a survey of 1,384 parents with children ages 0 to 8 years old, reports that 51 percent of all 0- to 8-year-olds have played a console video game. Not bad for an entertainment medium that didn't exist 50 years ago. Breaking the data down further, 44 percent of 2- to 4-year-olds have played video games, as have 81 percent of 5- to 8-year-olds.

These kids are getting their start in video games early, with the average age of first use being 3 years, 11 months. Though children are exposed to video games at a young age, the report says gaming does not dominate their media diet just yet. Among 5- to 8-year-olds, only 17 percent play console video games at least once a day. Another 36 percent play them at least once a week.

You can read the report for yourself here.

I can't wait to read Common Sense Media's next report, which will hopefully determine once and for all whether or not Americans like pizza.

[Source: Gamasutra]