A local board of education in Japan is urging parents to enforce 'no computer game days' twice a month, which also means no gaming for parents. But are Gen Z really suffering from spending too much time playing computer games?
Generation Z helped bolster the revenue of video games and downloadable content to $50 billion in 2014. Older gamers hate the very existence of microtransactions in gaming. But Gen Z are not only enthusiastic consumers of virtual goods, but also savvy entrepreneurs; gaming is even replacing ‘saturday jobs’. How is Gen Z rewriting the reality of how, and for what, we shop online?
In total, Americans spend about a third more on apps than the Japanese. But per person, the Japanese spend two and a half times more. Why? Because mobile gaming is exploding in Japan, with spending on games increasing by 400% since 2012.
Meisei Cyber: attending a virtual high school in Japan
case study·
4 Dec 2014
In Japan, high school can be one of the most stressful points in a young person’s life with 59% claiming the pressure is “too much”. In response to a small but growing sect of students failing to make it to class due to sickness, bullying or social anxiety, Meisei Cyber is a virtual high school teens attend with an avatar.
In Japan, reported cases of school bullying more than doubled in 2012, while high school dropouts rose by 2.3%. The proportion of truants was greatest in the Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, which were devastated by the March 2011 disasters.