Gaming habits of respondents children
Similarly, as in 2018 and 2019, a significant part of the Polish Gamers Research has been devoted to consumer habits of the youngest Polish gamers and their parents. The research also focuses on the knowledge and the level of adherence to PEGI, European video game content rating system, and the level of parental control over children playing video games.
That part of the Polish Gamers Research 2020 is connected with the care about the youngest participants of the electronic entertainment world, who will be accompanied by video games throughout their entire childhood. The results of the research are addressed not only to game producers and distributors, but first of all to parents who are responsible for the development of their children. The research should raise a debate in the media, in particular dealing with parenting issues, in the public opinion and among parents because of the disturbing results. The survey indicates insufficient knowledge about PEGI among the parents of children playing video games and an insufficient adherence to the guidelines contained in that classification.
Base: : Parents of children up to the age of 18, N=594
Does at least one of your children, up to the age of 18, play computer games (on a computer, console, telephone or tablet) at least from time to time (at least once a month)?
On the basis of the results of the Polish Gamers Research 2020, it has been observed that there is a need to intensify the efforts aimed at educating the parents within the scope of learning about and understanding the importance of following the age rating guidelines. The age rating confirms that a given game is appropriate for a person of a given age and it should support making a conscious consumer decision.
Base: : Parents of children up to the age of 18 who play computer games, N=425
What age is the child exactly? / Is it a boy or a girl? / Do you set parental restrictions / parental controls on the device your child is playing on?
In the present survey, 72% of the parents positively answered the question whether their children up to 18 years of age played video games. It is 1% less than in 2019 and by 6% more than in 2018. 28% of the parents declare that their children do not play video games. The highest share of playing children (over 20%) is recorded in the age groups of 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18. Pursuant to the declarations of the parents, more boys than girls play video games (59%). 45% of the parents use the parental control technologies on the devices used by their children to play.
Chart 1 Base: : Parents of children up to the age of 18 who play computer games, N=425 / Do you ever play computer games with your child / children?
Chart 2 Base: : Parents who play games with their children, N=251 / How often do you play computer games with your child / children?
A negative trend, which has been observed since 2018, is that less parents play with their children. In 2020, 59% of the parents provided a negative answer to the question whether they played video games with their children. In 2018, 69% of parents stated that they played with their children; in 2019 it was 65%. A positive phenomenon is that the parents who decide to spend their time with children playing video games do it more often than last year. 8% of the respondents play with their children every day (6% in 2019), 31% do it a few times a week (27% in 2019). The participation of parents in playing video games is very important from the point of view of controlling the time spent on playing and the contents consumed by the children. Parents who play video games are more conscious consumers, who understand the threats for the children’s development connected with playing video games inappropriate for a given age.
