The Role of Networked Video Game Play in American Boys' Friendships

• In Event: The Role of Social Media in Adolescent Identity and Relationship Development

Abstract

Networked technologies increasingly permeate the lives of teens and mediate many of the interactions teens have with peers. A nationally representative study of American adolescents ages 13 to 17 examined the role that networked and mobile technologies play in youths' friendships. The survey unpacked the role that social media, games and mobile phones play in how youth meet new friends, how they communicate with and maintain their friendships, and how those relationships are challenged or dissolved as a result of their online interactions. This presentation will show that networked video gaming plays an important role in adolescents' friendships, especially for boys, and will reveal the ways in which that role varies by age, race/ethnicity and socio-economic status. The research will show the frequency with which boys and girls make new friends - whom they often never meet in person - and maintain bonds with current friends through networked game play.

Author

• Amanda B. Lenhart, Pew Internet and American Life Project