Gaming and Disadvantaged Youth

This is sort of a follow up to my last post about hiring gamers and the current job market. I wanted to know how low-income youth were competing for these skills. I did a 'little' research and discovered that they were at a disadvantage. This problem is called the 'Digital Divide.'

Low-income and at-risk youth are at a disadvantage in today’s job market due to the fact that they have limited or no access to computers, internet service, broadband or important computer software. Multi-player online games require high speed internet service. Xbox, PlayStation and WII all have online capabilities. Players are able to play online with friends and others from around the country. All systems require access to the internet. Along with the need for internet access the player also needs the software and computer hardware necessary to run the games. Necessary computer components can cost thousands of dollars and games can run from $19 to $60 per game. Online subscriptions can run from free to $20 monthly fees. The following studies show the statistical disadvantages that low income youth have compared to high income youth in these areas.

Table 1

A summary of computer and Internet access for students living in households with incomes of $15,000 or less, versus students living in households with incomes of $75,000 or more.

Tab le 1. Computer and Internet Access: Differences by Income

Income Level	Computer at home	Internet access at home	Broadband at home
Above $75,000	96%	93%	51%
Below $15,000	45%	29%	7%

Sources : National Center for Education Statistics, Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms:

1994- 2003. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education (2005); U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current

Population Survey, (September 2004). Accessed through (Venegas, 2005).

The data presented above highlights how differences in income correlate with great disparities in access to computers at home. Less than 50 percent of low income students have a computer available to them at home to complete school assignments, much less to access the Internet. There are even greater gaps in access to the Internet. Less than 30 percent of low-income students have Internet access at home and only 7 percent have a high speed Internet connection.

Jeff Carver, a Professor at the University of Maryland wrote in his research that, “The gap between the usage of computers and the Internet by high-income and low-income groups is growing. This issue is one that will greatly affect the future of America. If people are unable to use the technology needed to be successful, then in a few years from now, this country could be at a disadvantage compared with others. There are many indicators that the problem is not one of lack of desire by the users, rather it is more an access and guidance problem (Carver, 2000).”

The NPR, Kaiser Family Foundation and the Kennedy School conducted a poll in 1999 to study the widespread enthusiasm for technology. The found what they called the ‘Digital Divide’. The poll showed that: There was a widening gap between the haves and have nots:

“Americans are more likely to say computers widen the gap (45%) in income and opportunity between the haves and have not’s in society than to say computers narrow the gap (11%) or do not make much of a difference (39%). Most (57%) believe the government should help low-income people get access to computers and the Internet (and 78% say the government should help low-income children) (NPR, 1999).

Schools are helping with computer access but studies show that 94% of wealthy schools have access to internet where only 84% of schools that serve the poor population have access. Also, The Commerce Department estimates there were six students for each computer in K-12 schools in 1999 (Department of Commerce, 1999). The Department of Commerce stated that the “Demand for highly-skilled information technology workers leads all other occupations and is expected to continue in the years ahead (Department of Commerce, 1999).”

CivSource is a website dedicated to providing the latest news on country, state and local politics, management and business. In a 2010 article written by Jeffery Smith; Smith writes that, “According to an analysis conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Projects, the internet and related technologies remain much more pervasive for high-income earners than other groups of Americans. After controlling for a number of characteristics, like community types, race, age and education, the report found income was the biggest determinant… (Smith, 2010).”

It seems to me that here is a cause that game companies can support. I have seen many of them give to disaster relief, but this is something that is right up their alley. Donate games and gaming software to schools or related non-profits. This would make a huge social impact and put gaming in a whole new light.

Sources:

1. Jeff Carver, University of Maryland Internet and Computer Usage by Low-Income Groups. http://otal.umd.edu/uuguide/carver/
2. NPR Online, http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/poll/technology/
3. Kristan Venegas, Internet and College Access: Challenges for Low-Income Students. http://www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/academic/january07/Venegas.pdf
4. Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org/entpartnerships/upload/Public-Service-Ads-to-Help-Disadvantaged-Youth-Bridge-the-Digital-Divide-Fact-Sheet.pdf
5. CivSource: http://civsourceonline.com/2010/11/29/digital-divide-deepens-between-income-levels-new-survey-finds/
6. D-Lib Magazine: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/february02/kirriemuir/02kirriemuir.html

Low Morale or Productivity? Hire a 'Gamer'

Think sitting in front of a computer or console is a complete waste of time, well think again!

Research has shown that multiplayer online games can and are crucial to the way we do business. Byron Reeves; a Professor at Stanford University and author of over 100 published studies, and J. Leighton Read; physician, inventor, successful biotechnologist founder, CEO and venture capitalist together co-authored the book, Total Engagement: : Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete. The book teaches businesses how to incorporate the principles of gaming into the work place. Their research shows how computer gaming applies to the work place by addressing such topics as, selecting game design features that can address your company’s pain points, using avatars to increase engagement and productivity, employing virtual currencies to help employees set priorities, share resources, and meet goals, implementing participant driven communication systems to facilitate team building, discovering untapped leadership skills by shifting collaboration to game-like environments, and mitigating possible negative effects of game applications at work.

Reeves and Read show how implementing elements of the game into the workplace can solve problems such as morale and communication and can help hone skills like data analysis, teamwork, recruitment and leadership (Read, 2010). “This isn't just possible, say Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read; it's inevitable. As employee productivity and engagement become more critical, the user experience provided by game technology offers a tantalizing solution for business. This is far more than a quaint metaphor or a twist on e-learning.”

Gaming is a social trend that is here to stay. Jane McGonigal, author of : Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, uses scientific research on what happens with the brain when gaming to show how gaming effects human behavior and creates better, happier and more productive people. She points out the four aspects of gaming that businesses can incorporate. They are: The ability to have satisfying work, the opportunity of learning with a hope of success, the ability to interact with people and a sense of epic meaning that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.

McGonigal shows that the amount of gamers across the world continues to grow. There are currently 183 million ‘active gamers’ in American alone. There are 4 million in the Middle East, 10 million in Russia, 5 million in India, 10 million in Vietnam, 10 million in Mexico, 13 million in Central and South America, 100+ million in China. In America 69% of head of households, male and female are gamers and over 97% of youth participate in online and console gaming. 40% are women one out of 4 gamers are over 50, the average 35 year old has been playing for 12 years and most players plan on playing for the rest of their lives (McGonagal).

The Creighton University College of Business had this to say about gaming and business,

“For a long time (and still to this day) video games have had a negative connotation. Gaming was thought to be a prominent source of violence, laziness, damaged relationships and even addiction. While gaming may affect different people in different ways, some health professionals and business people alike are starting to promote the positive aspects “gaming.”

There’s an entire slew of recent research supporting video games and their positive impact on human brain functionality. A study from Nottingham University says that video games can actually improve one’s mental capacity. And for those who are opposed to “shoot ‘em up” type games, think again! Those who engage in shooting games can reap the rewards, as they “improve visual skills by increasing the brain’s capacity to spread attention over a wide range of events,” according to one study at the University of Rochester (M., 2011).”

Major companies are using gaming to increase productivity and reduce cost. According to David Edery, worldwide games portfolio manager for Microsoft’s Xbox live arcade and research affiliate of MIT Comparative Media Studies Program, and Ethan Mollick, who studies innovation and entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, MBA from MIT and BA from Harvard University, in their book, Changing the Game: How Video Games are Transforming the Future of Business, “Microsoft has used games to painlessly and cost-effectively quadruple voluntary employee participation in important tasks. Medical schools have used game like simulators to train surgeons, reducing the error rate in practice by a factor of six. A recruiting game developed by the US army, for just .25% of the Army’s total advertising budget, has had more impact on new recruits than all other forms of Army advertising combined. And Google is using video games to turn its visitors into a giant voluntary labor force; encouraging them to manually label the millions of images found on the Web that Google’s computers cannot identify on their own (Mollick).”

So, having problems in the workplace with enthusiasm, morale, communication, productivity...well, just find that gamer in the group and get to work on a strategy for turning it all around!

Sources:

McGonigal,Jane: Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

Reeves, Byron & Read, J. Leighton: Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete.

Edery, David and Mollick, Ethan:Changing the Game; how video games are transforming the future of business: