Gender differences in Taiwan high school students' computer game playing

The purpose of this study is to explore gender differences among adolescents who play computer games: key areas of study include hours played, motivation, enjoyment experienced, and the impacts on the students' lives. The data were obtained from 535 Taiwan high school students. Results indicated that males spent more time playing computer games than did females and also enjoyed it more. Results also indicated that male students are more strongly motivated to play computer games. Gender differences exist in both the frequency and the types of games the subjects played. It is interesting to note that even with significant gender differences, both genders overwhelmingly concluded that playing computer games has helped the quality of their friendships. Finally, results also showed a slight gender difference regarding the predictors of Taiwan high school students' game playing enjoyments. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.