“The qualifications for self-government are not innate,” wrote Thomas Jefferson, “but rather are the result of habit and long-training.”⁵¹ Indeed, the development of citizens, key to the perpetuation of a healthy democracy, is a task for every generation.

As noted in the introduction to this report, many see a need to strengthen youth civic outcomes.⁵² Whether and under what circumstances youth video game play is likely to help or hinder such efforts, however, is not well understood.

Given the ubiquity of video games and their potential impact on the civic lives of teens, this report considers the positive and negative relationships that may exist between game play and civic and political engagement.