According to a new nationwide study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 97 percent of kids aged 12 to 17 interact with some form of video games. The study, conducted since November of 2007, found that out of 1,102 surveyed, 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls spent some time gaming.

Now I knew that gaming was a huge, multi-billion dollar business that continues to grow, but I had no idea that so many young ones, male and female alike, have gotten into gaming. It's not necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion, but ninety-seven out of one hundred is huge.

As an obvious advocate of video gaming (I am "The Gamer," as a matter of fact), I must say that gaming at a young age has provided me with positive skills that I still use to this day. Many video games across all genres have strengthened my hand-eye coordination, basic problem solving, situational intuition, quick decision making, and muscular reflex, all in an entertaining format.

The study also notes that about a third of the parents surveyed enjoyed playing video games with their children—a number I hope to see rise as time goes on. Additionally, most of the parents surveyed are under the age of 40 and have also grown up playing classic video games, which many believe is the reason why so many parents are gaming with their kids.

So, what do you think? As a legion of young gamers are growing older, are you ready to join in on the fun, or do you think that civilization with an attention span is doomed?

Get the full details of the study over at Yahoo! News.

AP (via Yahoo! News) - Survey: Nearly every kid a video gamer