Playing video games contributes substantially to sedentary behavior in youth. A new generation of video games—active games—may be an alternative to such sedentary games to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior. In order to promote active gaming, insight is needed in the correlates and potential determinants of such active gaming. In a paper just published in the e-journal JMIR serious games, with Monique Simons as first author, we reported the results of a survey among Dutch 12-16 y old youth to examine personal, social, and game-related correlates of both active and non-active gaming in adolescents.
Active gaming was significantly associated with a more positive attitude toward active gaming , a less positive attitude toward non-active games, more habitual gaming and having siblings and friends who spend more time on active gaming, and a somewhat lower game engagement. Non-active gaming was significantly associated with a more positive attitude toward non-active gaming, a stronger habit regarding gaming , having friends who spend more time on non-active gaming , and a more positive image of a non-active gamer.
