Game Guy spends a lot of time in front of a console, trying one game after another, then reading about them online. The downside is that he doesn’t get out much.

The plus side is that he meets a lot of new people.

Sounds odd, but a teen or pre-teen would understand. Today, a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project agrees. It says teens who play games are more likely to engage with friends and their community than those who don’t.

How? Because they rarely play alone. And they play games that offer more than just a load of scoring points.

The report compiles survey results from about 1,100 teens ages 12 to 17, among which virtually all played video games of some kind. About 75 percent play those games with other people, either in person or online, the report says, so it’s not as though these kids are holed up in a room alone somewhere.

And the games they’re playing aren’t just shoot-’em-ups, fantasy explorations and sports re-enactments. About half of the teens surveyed preferred titles that dwell in some way on moral and ethical issues, and another 40 percent play games that determine how communities should operate (the “Civilization” series by Sid Meier being among the most popular).

As a result, most of the teens playing these games become socially aware and are more apt to perform charity or volunteer work, raise money for causes, get politically motivated. They do all this while still managing to go to school, have a family life, talk on the phone, watch TV — all the things we’ve come to expect from teens.

Of course, the connection between games and social work isn’t ironclad; more research is needed, the report says. Still, it’s nice to know that somebody has proven that playing games isn’t a waste of time.

Game Guy knew it all along — he was just too busy playing with his friends to explain it.

(On Wednesday, Post-Dispatch tech reporter Tim Barker will take a closer look at the report and its findings.)