According to a recently conducted Oxford University
essay papers, teenagers who frequently play computer games have fewer chances to enter university than those who read books. The research tracked 17,000 teenagers born in 1970. Enhancing the chances of studying for a degree, reading has also much in common with career success. The research found out that 16-year-olds who read at least once a month are more likely to be a manager and a professional at 33 than those who did not like reading being a teenager. The statistics revealed that there is a 39% probability that girls reading books at 16 are likely to be in a professional or managerial position at the year of 33 and only 25% chance if they did not read. For boys, 58% of adults stand a better chance of having a well-paid job if they had read at 16, compared to a 48% chance if they had not. However, playing
computer games reduces chances to study for a degree from 24% to 19% for boys and from 20% to 14% for girls.
The research was carried out by Mark Taylor, of Nuffield College, Oxford. He said that results showed there was "something special" about reading for pleasure. Actually, reading makes difference even if taking into consideration the type of school attended and other details.
Mark Taylor said: "It's no surprise that kids who went to the theatre when young get better jobs. That's because their parents were rich. When you take these things into account, the effect that persists is for reading." Taylor suggested that other extra-curricular activities such as playing in an orchestra or those activities which are directly linked to academic studies are more beneficial than computer games.
Then he added: "The main thing I would highlight, because this is the 1970 cohort, when they played video games in 1986, that's not very many people. And the state of videogames in 1986 is nothing like it is now."
Although the research revealed that gaming reduces chances of getting higher education, it still claims that there is nothing to worry about even if you spend lots of time on playing computer games. Besides the research reveals that if a teenager reads books and at least one cultural activity, it increases the chances for entering university. However, reading often helps to get a prestigious job that is not always a well-paid one.
Reading improves the intellect and employers want to hire a person with good knowledge and education background. Still there could be no link between children who are destined for successful careers and want to read more than other peers. While reading helped people into a more prestigious career, it did not bring them a higher salary. None of the extra-curricular activities at 16 were associated with a greater or lesser income at 33.
