A
survey recently published by CenturyLinkQuote.com studied the gaming habits in Americans
ages 16 to 54+ and produced some interesting findings – especially about the
population who used to tell their children to “turn off the video games and go
outside.”
One of
the more expected findings showed that 68% of Americans regularly play video games – a figure
that skyrocketed during the first and second year of the pandemic. In 2021,
Americans’ weekly time spent gaming with others increased from 6.6 hours in
2020 to 7.5 hours, according to Statista.
Boomers
were split 50-50 between playing regularly or just “sometimes” and most
commonly spend just one to three hours of gaming each week. But they
aren’t fussing with HDMI cords or charging up controllers – 53% said they
prefer mobile gaming.
In
fact, the survey found that most Americans who game do so on their mobile
devices rather than a console because of the convenience of having
a console in the pocket. Call of Duty: Mobile was the most popular game,
followed by Roblox and Minecraft as a tie for second.
Generation
Z clocked the highest percentage of
regular gamers with 73%.
The
study was conducted through a survey of 1,000 Americans and then divided by
their generations: Gen Z (16–24 years old), millennials (25–44 years
old), Generation X (45–54 years old), and boomers (54+ years
old).
Some
other interesting facts from the survey:
- Only 4% of Americans
regularly play game marathons that run 13 or more hours. The largest share
of Americans (46%) spend no more than one to three hours gaming in
a row, a trend consistent across respondents of all ages. - Gen Z and millennials
are the most likely generations to play to win, constantly trying to
beat records and come out on top. - 37% of Gen Xers enjoy
some competition, but it’s not the biggest reason they game. - 42% of boomers play
noncompetitive games and like to go at their own pace. - Gen Z is the only
generation that spends more time playing first-person shooter games than
other genres (29%).
