MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- School is out for
the summer and for many teens playing video or online games is high
on their activity list. According to a new survey from Capital One
Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), 56 percent of teens say they
spend 30 minutes or more playing video or online games on average
each day, with 18 percent spending over two hours gaming. The good
news is that over half (58 percent) of teens say that the games
they play are at least sometimes educational, and 76 percent of the
young people polled believe that educational gaming is a great way
for them to learn.
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In an effort to help young people learn about money management
and financial decision-making through this effective method,
Capital One and Junior Achievement launched today a new innovative
online financial literacy simulation that introduces young people
to personal financial planning and career exploration. Based on
Junior Achievement's nationally recognized financial education
curriculum for middle and high-school students, JA Finance Park
Virtual gives students a glimpse of what it takes to be
successful in the 21st century global marketplace.
Through JA Finance Park
Virtual, students design personalized avatars and are
assigned a randomly-generated life-scenario, including a fictional
job, age, income, educational background and family. Based on that
scenario, students are then tasked with meeting real-life needs
such as successfully developing a budget, maintaining a household
and pursuing a career. There are two versions of JA Finance
Park Virtual, one that students
can experience on any computer with Internet access and another
version that schools can provide through the classroom in
conjunction with Junior Achievement's four-week money-management
curriculum.
"Financial literacy is a critical life skill for everyone, with
something to learn at every age, but research shows that many
students don't understand the basic principles of personal finance,
and this can impact their future success," said Jack E. Kosakowski, president and chief
executive officer of Junior Achievement USA. "The hands-on
practical money-management skills provided through JA Finance
Park Virtual are applicable to
real life situations and help students set and reach financial
goals both now and as adults."
Capital One's survey findings suggest that American families
regularly play games together and educational games can be a great
way for parents to start important conversations about topics like
financial planning and budgeting with their children.
- Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of parents of teens report
playing online, video or board games with their teens at least once
a month with one-quarter (26 percent) playing games together at
least weekly.
- Half (49 percent) of parents surveyed say that they play video
and online games with their teens.
- Over half (55 percent) of teens surveyed say that they would
like to learn more about how to manage their money, but 50 percent
of teens say that their parents talk to them about money once a
month or less.
"JA Finance Park Virtual
will help bring Junior Achievement's nationally recognized personal
finance curriculum to more young people across the country in a way
that's fun and inviting for them to learn," said Carolyn Berkowitz, vice president of Community
Affairs at Capital One. "Capital One is proud to continue our
long-standing partnership with Junior Achievement to help young
people learn important financial skills critical for their economic
success."
Teachers who have piloted JA Finance Park Virtual in the classroom have found the
online channel particularly effective in teaching their
students.
"Finance Park has really changed the way my students think about
creating budgets and savings plans," said Lawrence Cousin, a teacher at Edison Middle
School in Houston. "Understanding
and using basic personal financial planning tools is so critical to
the lifelong success and financial self-sufficiency of my students,
and JA Finance Park Virtual
has made those tools accessible and digestible for my
students."
JA Finance Park Virtual is
the latest innovation to stem from a six-year partnership between
Junior Achievement and Capital One. Since 2006, Capital One has
contributed more than $13 million to
Junior Achievement to help thousands of students across the U.S.
gain the money-management and life skills needed to compete
effectively in the global economy. Together, Capital One and Junior
Achievement created an innovative mobile financial education
program, launched in 2006, called Capital One/Junior Achievement
Finance Park. As of summer 2011, Capital One/Junior Achievement
Finance Park has impacted more than 80,000 students.
To experience JA Finance Park
Virtual, please visit http://financepark.ja.org.
Survey Methodology
Braun Research was engaged to conduct 1163 interviews in 653
households with 653 parents of teenagers ages 11 through 17 years
old and 510 teenagers ages 11-17 years old across the United States. Surveys were conducted by
telephone from June 18-30, 2011. The
margin of error for the interviewing is +/- 3.8 percentage points.
Interviews were monitored at random. Sampling for this study was
conducted across the United States
using a national probability sample of all exchanges and area codes
of households with someone between the ages of 11-17 living there.
All interviews were conducted using a computer assisted telephone
interviewing system. Statistical weights were designed from United
States Census Bureau statistics.
About Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated
to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global
economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior
Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for
students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness,
entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 124 individual
area operations reach more than four million students in
the United States, with an
additional 6 million students served by operations in 123 other
countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (http://www.capitalone.com/)
is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include
Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $126.1
billion in deposits and $199.8
billion in total assets outstanding as of June 30, 2011. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad
spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small
businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has
approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New
Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company,
Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol
"COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
SOURCE Junior Achievement