2025/11/04 by Cristina Ruiz-Poveda Vera, Jose María Jiménez Peláez · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Digital Games and Media #Impact of Technology on Adolescents #Media Influence and Health
paper · pdf · doi:10.24137/raeic.12.24.7
openalex created_date 2025/11/04 · openalex publication_date 2025/11/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Video games have become an enormously popular cultural and entertainment practice among young people. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship of Millennials and Generation Z with video games and to explore gender differences in their gaming practices. To achieve this, methodological triangulation combining surveys and discussion groups was used, allowing a descriptive and in-depth analysis of their gaming habits and preferences. The main conclusions reveal that digital natives of Generation Z begin to play at an earlier age than Millennials, with a prominent role of the family in their initiation. Generational openness to video games is growing gradually, with Centennial girls defying gender stereotypes regarding their preferences of video game genres and appreciating other women gamers as role models. This study elucidates the changing relationship of digital natives with video games. Boys spend more time gaming than girls, Generation Z girls are playing more and more frequently than Millennials, and gender stereotypes related to types of games are fading.