Imagine, if you will, the average games player. What do you see? A guy who never grew up? Or a nervous 18-year-old pushing buttons on his controller, lost and alone in a violent onscreen world? Sorry, you lose. The average gamer is starting to look pretty much like the average person. For the first time, according to a US poll commissioned by AOL Games, roughly half of those surveyed, ages 12 to 55, are tapping away at some kind of electronic game—whether on a PC, a cell phone or another handheld device—for an average of three hours every week. The games people play say a lot about who they are. Machines like the Xbox and PlayStation 2 are largely the territory of twenty-something men, who prefer to picture themselves as sports ‘stars and racing drivers. Men 50 and older prefer military games. Teenage girls are much more likely than boys to play games on their phone, while older women make up the majority of people playing card games such as Hearts on line. Is it a good thing, all this time spent on games? Or is it as harmful as television, pulling people ever further from reality? The AOL survey suggests some players are in denial about the extent of their habit. One in 10 gamers find it impossible to resist games 1 in 4 admits to losing a night’s sleep to play games and another quarter has been too absorbed to have meals. But don’t think we’re all heading into a world with everyone plugged into, if not totally controlled by, his own game. Quite the contrary: gamers appear to be more engaged with reality than other kinds of couch potatoes. According to a comprehensive survey by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA-whose members, of course, want you to think video games are healthy), gamers spend an average of 23 hours a week volunteering and going to church, concerts, museums and other cultural events. More enthusiastic gamers who play 11 hours a week or more spend ever more time out in the cultural world (34 hours). The AOL survey finds that electronic games ______.