THE AMUSEMENT ARCADE AS A SOCIAL SPACE FOR ADOLESCENTS - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY

A questionnaire survey of 460 children undertaken in 1990 gathered data on arcade use in adolescents aged between 11 and 16 years. More of the children surveyed visited arcades regularly than any other leisure provision for youth. The primary motivation was to ''hang out and/or meet friends''. ''Regular'' arcade visitors (n = 117) varied sufficiently from the more ''casual'' visitors (n = 197) in their orientation to, and experiences in arcades, to support Fisher's (1993a) observational finding of a distinct social group. Regular visitors were also more likely to score positively on indices screening for ''addiction''. Their own comments on amusement arcades are reported here. The study raises important questions about the unrestricted access of children to potentially addictive technologies, the exposure of children to socially unacceptable activities in some arcades and the perceived lack of relevant alternatives. Suggestions are made for future research in this field.