The Pew Research Center, a non-profit "fact tank" that often turns its eye to the American media, has released its report on youth gaming habits. The outlook, it turns out, is rather good. The study issued a questionnaire to 1,102 teens aged 12-17, boys and girls, and found that virtually all American youths--86 percent--play console games. Whether on a PC or a console, 76% of kids play online.

By Pew's survey, "the five most popular games among American teens are Guitar Hero, Halo 3, Madden NFL, Solitaire, and Dance Dance Revolution." By genre, racing, puzzle and sports games were the most popular, while virtual worlds (such as Second Life), MMOs, and survival horror titles were the least played.

Interestingly, the survey found that the social implications of multiplayer and online gaming could actually be healthy. Pew found that 65% of kids play their main game with friends in the same room. And when playing online, 70% play with people they know in real life at least some of the time.

You can read the entire article at ShackNews.