This Washington Post-UMass Lowell poll was conducted Aug. 14-21, 2017, among a random
national sample of 1,000 adults reached on cellular and landline phones. The margin of
sampling error for overall results is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. Sampling,
data collection and tabulation was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates
International (PSRAI) of Princeton, NJ.
A separate sample of 522 teens and young adults were interviewed in an online panel by
NORC at the University of Chicago from Aug. 22-Sept. 8, 2017. Overall results have a
margin of sampling error of plus or minus six percentage points.
(Full methodological details appended at the end.)
Fans= Sports fans (Avid, Regular or Casual)
Gamer= Play or watch online/competitive video games
YA=teens/young adults (NORC panel)
*= less than 0.5 percent
1. Taken all together, how would you say things are these days– would you say that you
are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?

8/20/17 All
8/20/17 Fans
9/8/17 YA

Very
happy
28
29
24

Pretty
happy
53
54
63

Not too
happy
17
15
14

No
opinion
2
2
0

5. Do you consider yourself to be a fan of [INSERT ITEM], or not?*
8/20/17 – Summary among all adults*
Yes
No
No opinion
Not a sports fan
Professional football
60
39
1
NA
Professional baseball
45
54
1
NA
Professional basketball
39
61
*
NA
Professional ice hockey
22
58
1
19
Professional soccer
24
57
*
19
Professional auto racing
24
56
*
19
Mixed martial arts
25
55
1
19
Professional boxing
28
53
*
19
Esports or competitive
video gaming
14
67
*
19
j. Wrestling, such as the WWE
14
67
1
19
k. College football
45
36
1
19
l. College basketball
35
46
*
19
*Items a-c asked of all adults. Items d-l asked of avid/regular/casual sports fans.
Professional football asked first; other items asked in random order. Professional
football fans asked follow up: Are you a big fan, or not so big?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

9/8/17 – Summary table among teens and young adults
a. Professional football
b. Esports or competitive
video gaming

Yes
40

No
60

No opinion
0

38

62

0

 2

On a different subject…
28. In the past 12 months, have you either played an online video game with multiple
players or participated in a video game competition, or not?
8/20/17 All
8/20/17 Fans
9/8/17 YA

Yes
18
19
59

No
81
80
40

No opinion
1
1
*

29. In the past 12 months, have you watched live or recorded video of people playing
video games on Twitch, YouTube or another platform, or not?
8/20/17
8/20/17
8/20/17
9/8/17

Adults
Fans
Gamer
YA

Yes
16
18
52
58

No
82
81
46
41

No opinion
1
1
2
*

Q28/Q29 NET Table
Gamers
Played and watched games
Played games only
Watched games only
Neither played nor watched

Adults
25
9
9
7
75

YA
73
45
15
14
27

31. (AMONG GAMERS) How often do you typically play video games?

8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

-Almost every day/moreEvery
Almost
NET
day
every day
31
20
11
47
25
22

A few
times
a week
24
19

About
once a week
18
14

Once
a month
10
10

Less
16
10

No
op.
1
0

NET 28/31

8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

----------- Play games ------------Every
Almost
No
NET
day
every day
Less
op.
18
4
2
12
1
58
15
13
31
0

Not
gamer
81
41

No
op.
1
*

32. (AMONG GAMERS WHO PLAY ALMOST EVERY DAY OR EVERY DAY) On a typical day, how many
hours do you play video games?
9/8/17

YA

<1 hour
5

1-2 hours
36

3-4 hours
39

5 hours+
19

No opinion
0

33. (AMONG VIDEO GAME WATCHERS) How often do you typically watch live or recorded
video of people playing video games?
-Almost every day/moreEvery
Almost
NET
day
every day

A few
times
a week

About
once
a week

Once
a
month

Less than
once
No
a month
opinion

 3
8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

17
25

9
13

9
12

16
25

14
16

13
17

38
17

1
0

35. (AMONG VIDEO GAME PLAYERS/WATCHERS) Is each of the following a major reason, minor
reason, or not a reason you play/watch/play and watch video games?
8/20/17 – Summary Table among adult players or watchers

a. Taking a break from everyday life
b. Enjoying the competition
c. Enjoying time with friends
d. The challenge of the game
e. Improving your gaming skills
f. Appreciating the visual arts
within games
g. For entertainment and fun
h. (AMONG GAMERS) The chance to win
money or championships
i. (AMONG GAMERS) Working together
with teammates to win

Major
reason
47
51
55
56
34

Minor
reason
29
26
24
26
25

Not a
reason
22
20
19
17
38

No
opinion
1
4
2
2
2

46
74

30
12

22
11

2
2

17

29

52

2

46

26

25

2

9/8/17 – Summary Table among teens/young adult players and watchers

a. Taking a break from everyday life
b. Enjoying the competition
c. Enjoying time with friends
d. The challenge of the game
e. Improving your gaming skills
f. Appreciating the visual arts
within games
g. For entertainment and fun
h. (AMONG GAMERS) The chance to win
money or championships
i. (AMONG GAMERS) Working together
with teammates to win

Major
reason
41
36
54
38
38

Minor
reason
36
41
26
41
35

Not a
reason
22
22
20
21
27

No
opinion
*
*
*
*
*

37
80

40
14

22
5

1
1

14

21

63

2

34

41

24

1

36. (AMONG GAMERS) Which online competitive video game do you play the most?
8/20/17
Adults
Call of Duty/Black Ops
12
Grand Theft Auto
6
Overwatch
5
Battlefield One
5
Minecraft
1
League of Legends
7
FIFA
5
Super Smash Bros
2
Battlegrounds
2
World of Warcraft
2
Counter Strike
1
Destiny
2
NBA 2K
2
Hearthstone
1
Rainbow Six
1

9/8/17
YA
24
17
7
7
5
4
4
4
3
3
2
1
1
1
1

 4
Rocket League
MLB: The Show
Paladins
Halo
Madden NFL
Mario Kart
Dota
Street Fighter
Gears of War
Mortal Kombat
Other
No opinion

1
*
0
2
2
2
1
1
2
1
25
6

1
1
1
*
*
*
*
*
0
0
12
1

38. (AMONG VIDEO GAME WATCHERS) Do you have a favorite esports team or player in
competitive video gaming, or not?
8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

Yes
20
24

No
80
76

No opinion
*
0

39. (AMONG VIDEO GAME WATCHERS) If you had a free hour of time, would you prefer
spending it watching a (live esports competition) or a (live sporting event such as
football or the Olympics)?

8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

Watch a live
esports competition
15
35

Watch a pro
sports game
78
65

No
opinion
8
*

40. (AMONG VIDEO GAME PLAYERS/WATCHERS) Do you play/watch/play and watch competitive
online video games with friends you first met offline, or not?
8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

Yes
33
52

No
65
48

No opinion
2
0

41. (AMONG VIDEO GAME PLAYERS/WATCHERS) Have you become friends with anyone you met
playing/watching/playing or watching) competitive online video games?
8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

Yes
32
45

No
67
55

No opinion
1
0

42. (AMONG GAMERS, VIDEO GAME WATCHERS AND FANS) Do you think there is or is not an
unwritten code of sportsmanship among competitive online gaming?

8/20/17 Adults
9/8/17 YA

Yes, there is an
unwritten code
57
63

No, there is not
an unwritten code
29
37

No
opinion
14
*

43. In the online video gaming community, do you think women are treated with (more
respect) than men, (less respect) than men, or are men and women respected about
equally?
More respect
Less respect
Respected
No
than men
than men
about equally
opinion
8/20/17 Adults
4
32
27
37

 5
8/20/17 Gamers
9/8/17 YA

8
5

42
53

39
42

11
*

*** END ***
METHODOLOGICAL DETAILS
This poll was jointly sponsored and funded by The Washington Post and the University
of Massachusetts-Lowell. The phone poll is a random sample of adults in the United
States, with interviews in English and Spanish.
This questionnaire was administered with the exact questions in the exact order as
they appear in this document. Demographic questions are not shown. If a question was
asked of a reduced base of the sample, a parenthetical preceding the question
identifies the group asked. Phrases surrounded by parentheticals within questions
indicate clauses that were randomly rotated for respondents.
For the telephone sample, a dual frame landline and cell phone telephone sample was
generated using Random Digit Dialing procedures by Survey Sampling International
(SSI). Interviewers called landlines and cellular phone numbers, first requesting to
speak with the youngest adult male or female at home, on random rotation. The final
sample included 344 interviews completed on landlines and 656 interviews completed via
cellular phones, including 258 interviews with adults in cell phone-only households.
The panel portion of the survey was asked of 522 teens and young adults ages 14 to 21
from the AmeriSpeak Panel conducted by NORC. The final sample included 503 interviews
completed by web and 19 completed by telephone. Participants for the study were
sampled by conducting a random and demographically-balanced sample of young adults and
minors. Young adults of legal age were contacted directly to participate. Minor
panelists were screened to confirm a child between the ages of 14 and 17 still live in
that home, and that the adult is their parent or guardian. Then the parent or guardian
was asked to consent for their minor to be interviewed and asked whether phone or
email was the best way to contact that minor. For households with multiple minors in
that age range, one was randomly selected to be invited to answer the survey.
Questions marked “YA” in this trend document were asked in the order they appear in
this document with the same wording.
This survey uses statistical weighting procedures to account for deviations in the
survey sample from known population characteristics, which helps correct for
differential survey participation and random variation in samples. The overall adult
sample is weighted to correct for differential probabilities of selection among
individuals who are landline-only/cell phone-only/dual users, as well as the number of
adults in households with landline phones. Results are also weighted match the
demographic makeup of the population by sex, region, age, education, and
race/ethnicity according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey
data. Results were weighted to county population density according to the 2010
Decennial Census.
All error margins have been adjusted to account for the survey’s design effect, which
is 1.39 for this survey. The design effect is a factor representing the survey’s
deviation from a simple random sample, and takes into account decreases in precision
due to sample design and weighting procedures. Surveys that do not incorporate a
design effect overstate their precision.
Unweighted
Group
sample size
All adults
1,000
Football fans
598
Sports fans
813
Sports fans half samples
403-410
Teens and young adults
522

Error margin
+/- 3.5 points
4.7
4
5.7-5.8
6.1

 6
The Washington Post is a charter member of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, which
recognizes organizations that disclose key methodological details on the research they
produce.
Contact polls@washpost.com for further information about how The Washington Post
conducts polls.