The Role of Gaming Platforms in Young Males' Trajectories of Technical Expertise

Studies of gender in videogame culture have often suggested that games provide a source of informal learning about technology, and that the perceived masculinity of the medium means that this benefit goes mainly to boys. The author’s research interrogates and expands upon this “techno-socialization” theory of games. This paper presents a case-study based on interviews with male students (n = 18) studying ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in the UK, and illustrates the complexity of relationships between gaming and their interest (or indifference) toward computing careers.