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Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

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Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#91

Post by chrisco255 »

satokema wrote: post #76
chrisco255 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you? You telling me you got no innate enjoyment out of those activities? No rush or thrill when you scored a goal or caught a pop fly?

You would have to score a goal or catch a pop fly in order to experience those things. My attempts at team sports when young were full of experiences of being insufficent and bullying or ostracism by the more athletic team members. So I didn't ask to go back and didn't join them later on for school teams, and had minimal interest in even observing them. Learning the rulesets was fine, I can follow an american footbal…

Well that seems to follow from dominance hierarchies and we tend to gravitate towards activities we excel in or have a good chance of excelling in, because we get innate enjoyment from being better than average at various things. And that is deeply wired in our psychological system.

So sure, if you're not skilled or naturally gifted in sports, there are other paths for you to achieve excellence. And that's perfectly fine.

Truth is, the vast majority of the people bullying you eventually dropped out of sports as they tried to climb the hierarchy themselves, whether in high school, college, or later. Society can only have so many pro sports players and so it goes. At least you got a head start on finding yourself and alignment with your interests and better talents.

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#92

Post by proverbialbunny »

ineedasername wrote: post #81

The original (more clicky baity) said "brain differences", which really isn't born out by the article. It seems highly likely that these preferences are socially constructed. I have two kids under the age of 10, and both play video games with the same fervor & intensity. Neither are allowed on social media yet. (yes, that's a sample size of 1, so it's hardly authoritative, just a case-in-point) Also, at least some of…

>"brain differences", which really isn't born out by the article. It seems highly likely that these preferences are socially constructed.

What we do and experience in our life shapes our brain. So anything that says "brain differences" without further detail is at best pop neurology.

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#93

Post by throwawawathrow »

Funes- wrote: post #89
whatshisface wrote: post #53

All of the games I played as a kid were clearly designed for boys and young men (featuring all of the typical things like guns and heavy machinery that men are well known to like more than women). That's just how the market was. If it's like that today, then it is no wonder that boys exhibit signs of enjoying video games more.

>all of the typical things like guns and heavy machinery that men are well known to like more than women Okay, so either men liking guns, heavy machinery, and videogames more than women comes from a inherent, biological difference between men and women, or it all comes from a huge, complex social construct that has been cultivated and dominant for centuries. Which one is it, then?

That huge, complex social construct is called advertising and it is something HN users should know about seeing how most of their jobs is serving as much of it to as many Internet users as possible. You wouldn't think HN users would get into a job that involves shaping the minds of literal millions of people without being aware of the consequences that would entail, would you?

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#94

Post by charmides »

ineedasername wrote: post #81

The original (more clicky baity) said "brain differences", which really isn't born out by the article. It seems highly likely that these preferences are socially constructed. I have two kids under the age of 10, and both play video games with the same fervor & intensity. Neither are allowed on social media yet. (yes, that's a sample size of 1, so it's hardly authoritative, just a case-in-point) Also, at least some of…

"It seems highly likely that these preferences are socially constructed."

People love to think this way, but study after study suggests that those preferences are at least partly biological. It's one of those cases where there is a disconnect between the scientific understanding and the beliefs of the general public (including policymakers).

See for example this research work: https://www.math.kth.se/matstat/gru/5b1501/F/sex.pdf:

"Results showed that the male infants showed a stronger interest in the physical-mechanical mobile while the female infants showed a stronger interest in the face. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that sex differences are in part biological in origin."

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#95

Post by stevenhuang »

solidsnack9000 wrote: post #77
NoodleIncident wrote: post #66

Here is one of the actual studies, which is much less annoying to read: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6234325/?mod=ar... I was particularly interested in the participant selection section; they did go to an effort to select male and female participants with similar gaming habits. However, this doesn't mean that the only explanation for the different "craving" response is a fundamental difference betwee…

This argument is superficially compelling but I fear that it is ultimately argument from ignorance. It is true that we don’t know everything. You even offer a fairly elaborate example of something that we don’t know whether it happened or not. It could be true. The problem here is that you offer no evidence to support whether it is true or not. Now it’s story time and instead of evaluating the studies and working wit…

> you offer no evidence to support whether it is true or not.

The point is that it illustrates the study may not have taken such considerations into account. It calls to question the accuracy and efficacy of their results.

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#96

Post by chrisrhoden »

chrisco255 wrote: post #57
chrisrhoden wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cultural acceptance / expectations account for a lot of behaviors. I played soccer & baseball as a boy because that was what was expected of me, not because I have some natural inclination to do so.

Did you? You telling me you got no innate enjoyment out of those activities? No rush or thrill when you scored a goal or caught a pop fly?

Given your tone, it sounds like you sincerely believe that I am more likely to have positive feelings about doing well in a game than a girl is for reasons that are not cultural / social.

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#97

Post by [deleted] »

mjevans wrote: post #86
derefr wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of games "for girls" (the hidden-object and life-simulation genres are almost exclusively consumed by women, regardless of theming) but they're not marketed with quite the high-budget superbowl ad-campaign effort that games "for boys" are. I've encountered the situation many times where I'll find out one of my female friends doesn't play video games. I'll ask why, and—disregarding the people who just…

Would 'escape room' and/or puzzle-room games (maybe more like the Myst genera) be under the Hidden Object umbrella, or possible a "puzzle environment" genera? Also, IMO, Puzzle Environment is (hopefully) non-gendered, but I've never seen stats for it.

[deleted]

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#98

Post by danbolt »

chrisco255 wrote: post #57
chrisrhoden wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cultural acceptance / expectations account for a lot of behaviors. I played soccer & baseball as a boy because that was what was expected of me, not because I have some natural inclination to do so.

Did you? You telling me you got no innate enjoyment out of those activities? No rush or thrill when you scored a goal or caught a pop fly?

I mean, like, I was happy that I did well and all, but I don't think I was intrinsically excited about that kind of thing as a child.

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#99

Post by belorn »

whatshisface wrote: post #50
belorn wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we take a look at the animal kingdom, females compete for social status over other females in order to get the best males, and males compete for social status over other males in order to get the best females. Both does this in order to get the best offspring as part of evolution and natural selection. You get differences when there is a difference in investment during the reproduction, like egg and sperm. Looking…

> In one culture the apex male attribute to reach the top of the social status ladder would be to go into the jungle and kill a lion with nothing but a spear. In an other it is to have the title of CEO and have a high number listed in a bank account. These are very similar from a behavioral perspective because they both involve aggression and risk-seeking.

Indeed, and from what I know the same is true for those at the top on social media platforms. I would think any hierarchy with mobility in it has aggression, risk-seeking and manipulation as key traits in those reaching and staying at the top.

Re: Brain research on boys’ preference for video games and girls’ for social media

#100

Post by neo4sure »

hackinthebochs wrote: post #58
whatshisface wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In poorer countries there tend to be more female engineers because engineering is a good career for anyone (including women), and in poorer countries, having a good career is proportionally more important. The prevalence of female engineers in India is frequently used as support for the natural preference theory.

To add to this, in countries with low equality and weak social safety nets, having a lucrative career is far more important for survival. It's western countries where women are more free to choose a career based on interest.

This cannot be a correct assumption. In western countries also most Enginnering jobs pay well above what other female-dominated (medical care) jobs offer. Then why don't select these well-paying jobs over ones that don't pay as much?
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