MMORPG Hours vs. TV Hours

MMORPG gamers spend on average 21.0 hours per week playing the game (N = 1996), and spend on average 7.7 hours per week watching TV (N = 1996). The national average for TV watching per week is around 28, which is what the above averages add up to. In other words, this lends support to the claim that time that was spent watching TV has been displaced by MMORPG playing. Female players are on average older than male players (33.0 vs. 28.4, N male = 1587, N female = 379, p < .001) and also spend more hours in the game than male players (22.3 vs. 19.0, p < .001).

Among male players, age correlates positively with hours of TV watched per week (r = .08, p = .003). Among female players, age correlates positively with hours spent playing an MMORPG per week (r = .12, p = .02). With both male and female players, hours spent playing an MMORPG does not correlate with hours spent watching TV (r = .03 and r = -.03 respectively, p's > .05).

The following table shows average weekly hours spent playing MMORPGs and watching TV among MMORPG players. Of interest is the spike in play-time among female players over the age of 35. The trend among male players appears to be mostly linear.