“One of the hot topics today is Twitter, but when we first went into the field and began interviewing, Twitter didn’t exist, ” Ms. Rideout said.

"My impression is that parents really believe these videos are good for their children, or at the very least, not really bad for them," Ms. Rideout said.

VICKY RIDEOUT: "It looks like the girls just sort of lose interest in the games and they drop off and start doing other things, whereas the boys' interest remains strong."