As the pandemic surged last year and the most vulnerable were advised to stay home, seniors became the new gamers. That's right, your grandparents were stealing cars in GTA,  building in Minecraft, and crushing it in Candy Crush. The Baby Boomers turned to gaming for new ways to entertain themselves, according to a new study.

Their platform of choice was mobilePC gaming was second, and PS4 came in third. It was way easier for them to play on their phones than try and fight with scalpers for a new console. They turned to it as something to keep their minds occupied and also connect with loved ones. On average one in three seniors became active gamers. Last year saw 10 million new gamers join what's being called "the gaming renaissance."

Millennials still played more actively, however. On average these elders were playing about an hour a day. Male Baby Boomers were also more likely to play online than females because of online toxic behavior. Seniors still did experience it with 1 in 10 of them reporting bullying during play. It seems every generation deals with trolls.

Related: Resale Site Has Sold 130,000 PS5s For Inflated Prices Since Launch

Senior Gamers Quick Stats
Via/Stannah
Stats about senior's who game from the survey.

Some of the other benefits reported from gaming were stress relief, strategic thinking, and hand-eye coordination. All important things for that age group. 63% of them also said they believe that gaming contributed positively to their well-being. While younger generations of gamers tend to care more about the social aspect, older ones value the cognitive benefits more.

Now, back to when it comes to getting your hands on the latest and greatest consoles, 50% of the more than 1000 people surveyed think "flipping" should be banned. This was a practice many witnessed with scalpers last year who snapped up PS5 pre-orders and re-sold them for crazy amounts. Everyone no matter what age group you fall into seems to agree that this is a problem that needs to stop.

44%  of the survey respondents reported buying a new console since COVID began in March 2020. Though reports are already circulating of more production delays, hopefully, more actual consumers can get their hands on new consoles.

Source: Stannah

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