Computer Games as a Part of Children's Culture

1 The cultural and pedagogical relevance of electronic games Interactive video and computer games belong to the new multimedia culture that is based on the digital computer technology. These games have become increasingly popular in the past 20 to 25 years, especially among young people. In the beginning they were mainly played by youth and young adults who were enthusiastic about computers. During the early nineties, however, video and computer games became a matter-of-course in the everyday life of young people, including children. There is not one single explanation for this development. Probably a number of different reasons can be alleged. From an economic perspective one might argue that children and youth have become important target groups for many industries, e.g. media, fashion, music. Young people are believed to act as "driving forces" in and for new markets and products, and their purchasing power is noteworthy. The computer game industry obviously has been quite successful in attracting these young customers. From a technical perspective one could point out that starting and playing electronic games has become easier in the past two decades. You don't need need specific computer knowledge to use a Game Boy or a televisionlinked console it is just plug and play.[1] In addition, the introduction of Microsoft Windows has made personal computers (PCs) to some degree more user friendly to operate. But in order to explain the broad success of video and computer games it is not sufficient to take into account what happened on the part of the media. It is crucial to see what happened on the part of the players, too. What made and makes video and computer games fascinating for them? How do they use and value different games? To what extent are the changing media environments of children connected to more general social developments? Questions like these are characteristic for scientific approaches which are interested in the social and cultural relevance of media uses. They go beyond media-centered approaches and try to understand how computer games are integrated into the lives of the children and young people (Livingstone, d'Haenens & Hasebrink, 2001).