No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Social Gaming Patterns During a Pandemic Crisis: A Cross-cultural Survey
Abstract
Games have shown to play a pivotal role as a source of entertainment and social interaction during the COVID-19 outbreak, allowing development and maintenance of positive relationships.
Despite the prevalence of gaming as a human activity, the literature on playtime is uninformed by large-scale, high-quality data. This has led to an evidence-base in which the existence of specific cultural gaming cultures (e.g. exceptional levels of gaming in East Asian nations) are not well-supported by evidence. Here we address this evidence gap by conducting the world’s first large-scale investigation of cross-cultural differences in mobile gaming via telemetry analysis. Our data cover 118 billion hours of playtime occurring in 214 countries and regions between October 2020 and October 2021. A cluster analysis establishes a data-driven set of cross-cultural groupings that describe differences in how the world plays mobile games. Despite contemporary arguments regarding Asian exceptionalism in terms of playtime, analysis shows that many East Asian countries (e.g., China) were not highly differentiated from most high-GDP Northern European nations across several measures of play. Instead, a range of previously unstudied and highly differentiated cross-cultural clusters emerged from the data and are presented here, showcasing the diversity of global gaming.
Video games are often thought of as trite activities for younger generations. However, research in game studies over the last few decades have revealed that games can be valuable tools for growth and connection, particularly among older generations. Exploring the ways digital games can be used as tools for connection has gained increased attention in recent months with global quarantines as a result of COVID-19. This article reviews the research that has examined the utility of digital games for older adults, focusing specifically on the ways in which games can be tools for social connectedness and psychological healing for older adults and intergenerationally. Special focus will be placed on the role games can play for post-traumatic stress among first responders.
Loneliness and social isolation are associated with poor mental and physical health and may increase the likelihood of common mental disorders (depressive and anxiety disorders), substance use, and cognitive decline1,2. At this moment, people around the globe have been urged to self–isolate and refrain from social interaction due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. From public health and preventative care perspectives, there is a pressing need to provide individuals, communities and health agencies with information and interventions to maintain the healthiest possible lifestyle while in isolation.
Stay-at-home mandates and quarantines related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have led to greatly increased participation in online gaming. Initiatives such as #PlayApartTogether that promote gaming for socializing and stress reduction may achieve positive outcomes. Although gaming can be a healthy coping strategy for the majority, it can also pose risks to some vulnerable individuals. Protracted periods of social isolation and technology-based activity pose the danger of solidifying unhealthy lifestyle patterns, leading to difficulties to readaptation when the COVID-19 crisis has passed. Balanced and effective approaches to gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic are needed to support physical and psychological wellbeing.
As the bells struck the stroke of midnight, ringing in 2020, citizens were smiling, pouring another glass of rosé, red wine or supping from their pint of Guinness from the confines of their local pub, house parties, restaurants, or clubs; while singing auld lang syne, shaking each other's hands, giving a kiss on the cheek to the person next to them or a hearty smooch with a loved one. The biggest challenge of a generation ahead, at this moment in time in the UK was Brexit, li le did we know this was about to be surpassed by something even bigger. Less than three months into the new year the UK and the majority of the world would be fighting COVID-19. This virus is causing havoc and it is not selective in whom it a aches itself too, whether you are poor, wealthy, a celebrity, an older adult, or a newborn child. However, the advice given, and how we are able to protect ourselves varies between wealth and crucially, age. Late in the afternoon of the 16 March, 2020 the UK Government advised that individuals and communities across the country not to undertake unnecessary forms of socialising such as a ending a theatre production, drinking a pint or gently sipping a gin and tonic in one's local, mass gatherings culminating in sports events-the premiere league, super league, the six nations and the London marathon have either been put on hold or will be in the coming days and weeks. Citizens of the UK and worldwide have been informed by their respective governments and law enforcement agencies not to take unnecessary activities. In some instances, curfews have been implemented with the threat of fines and/or imprisonment for breaching those controls. Across the UK, it has been mooted that citizens stay indoors and work from home. Students at various levels of the British education system are worried about classes, and upcoming examinations. Business and industries such as airlines and hospitality could go bust within a ma er of weeks or months. Nevertheless, what is happening on the ground, in the communities surrounding our towns and cities? How are the residents in these various geographically and at times challenging locations responding? What is happening to the individuals which make up the myriad of communities, formed of intergenerational populations, and what are the potential impact(s) both from a positive and negative standpoint to isolation? We know that mobility is important for life. People who have to reduce mobility because of changes in health or cognition lament the ability to go places, to see the world going on around them, and are often as a huge disadvantage in terms of accessing shops, services and other opportunities. In research Charles Musselwhite has carried out, older people's mobility is linked not just to destination, though that is important, but to a sense of identity, independence and freedom. Additionally, people like to get out and connect with their local world and to pass the time of day with others. This is an important way of checking how one fits into the world. What if people can't do those everyday simple acts? Measures to stem the virus by pu ing citizens in lock-down are going to have psychological effects on a usually highly mobile population. Technology can help, if people have access to it and know how to use it. Between 2015 and 2017 the Technology In Later Life (TILL) study was conducted by a team of researchers from the UK and Canada, with the aim to understand the use, perceptions and impact(s) of technology by older adults aged 65+ years living in both urban and rural communities. Technology complements day-today activities, leisure (e.g. videogames, streaming music and TV) (Genoe et al. 2018), holidays (e.g. online booking of hotels, travel) and maintaining social connections via social media platforms (e.g. Facebook) as well as communication platforms (e.g. What's App, Viber). The TILL study suggested older people balance the facilitators of technology use (i.e. sharing of information and feeling secure) against the detractors of technology (i.e., feelings of apprehension of use, privacy, security). Marston and colleagues (2019) offered several recommendations that included the need of positive promotion of technology, focusing on the positive opportunities to improve one's health and wellbeing, creating peer support networks in relation to learning new technologies and how intergenerational relationships can be enhanced through technology.
The main purpose of this paper is to review the benefits and factors to be taken into
consideration for the design of intergenerational digital games. We conducted a systematic in Scopus,
Web of Science, PsicInfo, Pubmed and Science Direct, finally including 16 empirical studies written in
English. The identified benefits were found to fall into four main categories, i.e., (1) reinforcing family
bond, (2) enhancing reciprocal learning (3) increasing understanding of the other generation and
(4) reducing social anxiety. According to the literature, two types of factors are important to take into
consideration: player-centric and game-centric factors. We identified the nature of the interactions
between older (55–81 year-olds) and younger players (4–22 year-olds), their motivations to play
digital games and the difference in abilities as the main player-centric factors to take into account
when designing intergenerational games. The most relevant game-centric factors were found to be
goal-related and space-related forms of interaction. To gain more insight into how specific benefits
of playing digital games are related to a type of game, gender or age of the participant, additional
empirical studies (comparative analyses), that take these factors into account are needed.
This empirical study investigates social digital gaming habits through a national survey of Swedes aged 12–100. The enquiry concerns patterns of gaming and compares playing with different co-players in order to map out this growing practice among the general population. Logistic regression models are used to analyse the data. Results show support for the importance of separating different social gaming contexts according to the relational status of co-players: whom people play games with – family, friends or strangers – affects how players engage with games. Social gamers were younger, had higher achieved education, were more dedicated and spent more time on gaming. Furthermore, contrary to expectations, male gamers are more social than female gamers. Results show how digital gaming adapts to life rather than the other way around. Finally, digital gaming is shown to be situated in a complex weave of interactions and structures that go over and beyond the gaming itself.
This paper is a review of the state of play of research linking videogaming and flourishing, and explores the role of videogames and technology to improve mental health and well-being. Its purpose is to develop understandings about the positive intersection of gaming and well-being, to document evidence regarding links between videogames and positive mental health, and to provide guidelines for use by other researchers as they design and use tools and games to improve mental health and well-being. Using Huppert's (Huppert and So, 2013) proposition that to flourish is more than the absence of mental disorder but rather a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively, resulting in high levels of mental well-being, and Seligman's (Seligman, 2011) PERMA theory of well-being, the paper identifies strengths in existing games that generate positive affect, positive functioning, and positive social functioning, contributing to, and supporting mental health and well-being.
In the past, social interaction has been discussed mostly in the context of multiplayer games, ignoring the implicit forms of sociability in single player games. This paper distinguishes between the sociability around the playing of a game and the social play mediated by the game, and looks at single player, two player, multiplayer and massively multiplayer games as arenas for social interaction. The paper does not view social interaction as a new feature or a genre, but as a group of different, yet related, phenomena.
Massively multiplayer games (MMOs) are immersive virtual three-dimensional fantasy worlds in which people cooperate and compete with each other, as well as with the computer-generated denizens of that particular game world. Although typically seen as games, their strong social aspect suggests that they are a form of online communication tool, with which players interact to form friendships, create communities, and work together to accomplish a variety of goals. After an introduction to MMOs, this review explores how social aspects of the game imitate the real world in terms of choices that players make when interacting with others. Furthermore, player-to-player interactions are examined in terms of in-game group formation and how efficient communication is imperative for goal achievement. The review also explores how leadership skills learned in-game may be transferred to real-world scenarios. The reasons why people play MMOs are examined in terms of player motivations and how aspects of game play may have both positive and negative consequences for a player's well-being. The latter half of the review describes how MMOs are used as afterschool virtual teaching environments where students can use aspects of game play to learn, for example, leadership qualities. The review concludes with recommendations for using MMOs as virtual laboratories to explore aspects of human behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Social network games embedded within social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook facilitate play with "Friends" within the SNS. In this study, we look at different dimensions of how game play contributes to relationship initiation and development using qualitative data collected from adult Facebook users (N=18). Our data suggest that interpersonal motivations are a primary driver of initial game play and that while game play doesn't facilitate direct social interaction, participants perceived indirect interaction and sharing game-based content was useful in maintaining and even enhancing relationships.
The current study examined problematic Internet use (PIU) among people who play MMO games and sought to determine whether aspects of the MMO experience are useful predictors of PIU. The study sought to determine whether game-related variables could predict PIU scores after accounting for their relationships with psychosocial well-being. Novel methods allowed us, for the first time, to connect in-game behaviors with survey results of over 4000 MMO players. The results revealed that MMO gaming variables contributed a substantively small, but statistically significant amount of explained variance to PIU scores.
To date, most research into massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has examined the demographics of play. This study explored the social interactions that occur both within and outside of MMORPGs. The sample consisted of 912 self-selected MMORPG players from 45 countries. MMORPGs were found to be highly socially interactive environments providing the opportunity to create strong friendships and emotional relationships. The study demonstrated that the social interactions in online gaming form a considerable element in the enjoyment of playing. The study showed MMORPGs can be extremely social games, with high percentages of gamers making life-long friends and partners. It was concluded that virtual gaming may allow players to express themselves in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, and/or age. MMORPGs also offer a place where teamwork, encouragement, and fun can be experienced.
The coronavirus 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has led to laws and policies including national school closures, lockdown or shelter in place laws, and social distancing recommendations that may translate to higher overall screen time among children and adolescents for the duration of these laws and policies. These policies may need to be periodically re‐instated to control future COVID‐19 recurrences or other national emergencies. Excessive screen time is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance because it increases sedentary time and is associated with snacking
Video games have been a major form of people’s entertainment, and they have entered people’s family life. However, what we know about the effects of video games on family relationships is still rare. This study investigated the effects of video game co-playing among family members on family satisfaction and family closeness. In total, 361 parents recruited from Amazon Turk completed online questionnaires. The results showed that the more frequently family members play video games together, the better family satisfaction and family closeness they have. Families with poor family communication benefit more from co-playing than those with effective family communication. Family satisfaction mediated the relationship between video game co-playing and family closeness. Game features that facilitate family relationships were discovered through open-ended questions. Participants typically enjoyed playing video games with family members, and social benefits are the most salient in family settings.
Research on online gaming engagement and psychosocial outcomes is somewhat contradictory, which may be due to inconsistencies in outcome measures and conceptualization of gaming engagement. To add clarity to this, we explored these relationships using a number of different indictors of “engagement” Additionally, we examined the role of social identity and online social capital as mediators of online gaming engagement and psychosocial outcomes. We addressed this in a sample of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMOs) players (N = 708), via an online questionnaire. Findings revealed positive relationships between MMO engagement, MMO identity, and online social capital. Additionally, MMO identity related positively to self-esteem and social competence, and negatively with loneliness. Differential outcomes were also found between social capital and loneliness. Specifically, loneliness was negatively related to online bonding, but positively with online bridging capital, highlighting the importance of exploring the constitution of gaming communities to assess their role in promoting varying dimensions of social capital and the associated psychological correlates. Taken together, we evidence the psychosocial benefits of MMO engagement, specifically in relation to the social value of identifying and connecting with others in MMOs. Additionally, we highlight the complexities surrounding the concept and measurement of gaming engagement.
Expanding and building on our previous study, the current study mainly explored the degree to which older adults' social interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are associated with four socio-emotional factors. A total of 222 older World of Warcraft players, recruited online, completed a Web questionnaire. Consistent with the findings of the previous study, older adults' socio-emotional wellbeing was associated with the quality of guild play and enjoyment of relationship. Socio-emotional wellbeing was not associated with the amount of gameplay, intensity of interaction, network level and social motivation for playing MMORPGs. In addition, the findings also indicated that a large number of older adults developed meaningful online relationships with their game friends, but that it would be difficult for them to integrate these online friends into their 'real' lives. Gerontology researchers have established that social interaction is important for successful aging. A decrease in social interaction and cognitive decline have become a normal part of ageing, leading to serious social and emotional challenges such as loneliness and depression. Due to the in-game mechanisms, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are online communities where older adults can build and maintain meaningful and supportive relationships, but there is still a lack of understanding of whether or how these occur. This research investigated older adults' social interactions in MMORPGs and the degree to which these are associated with four socio-emotional factors-loneliness, depression, social support, and belongingness.
This paper studies cultural difference on team performance in a multiplayer online battle arena game called Defense of the Ancient 2(DOTA2). 37 international competition replays are acquired from the game platform of DOTA2 between Chinese teams and American teams. Though observing the replays, seven variables are brought up and paired data for each variable is obtained. Non-parametric test methods have been used to analyze the data, such as Wlicoxon test and Mood test. The result indicates some cultural differences in online games between two countries’ teams as following. Chinese teams are risk-avoiding while American teams are risk-taking. In addition, American teams show potential stronger masculinity than Chinese teams.
Recently, there has been growing interest in the way in which digital games can affect intergenerational interactions. Although the existing body of knowledge on intergenerational digital games is quite extensive, a systematic understanding of how digital games can enhance intergenerational interactions is still lacking. This paper reports on the state-of-the-art of current digital games and their utility in enhancing intergenerational interaction. Thirty-six papers published between 2006 and 2014 in English-language publications met inclusion criteria. The review presents sets of recommendations for designing game-mediated environments to enhance intergenerational interaction.
Ties often have a strength naturally associated with them that differentiate them from each other. Tie strength has been operationalized as weights. A few network measures have been proposed for weighted networks, including three common measures of node centrality: degree, closeness, and betweenness. However, these generalizations have solely focused on tie weights, and not on the number of ties, which was the central component of the original measures. This paper proposes generalizations that combine both these aspects. We illustrate the benefits of this approach by applying one of them to Freeman’s EIES dataset.
Used 16 scenarios to measure tendencies toward horizontal or vertical, individualism or collectivism with a sample of 180 Indian students (aged 19–25 yrs). The authors confirmed their hypothesis that India would be a vertical collectivism culture. The results show that vertical collectivism was consistently more popular across the scenarios when compared with the results of another study of students from the US. In addition, the Indian sample showed preference for tendencies such as strong family orientation, embeddedness with the primary in-group, belief in hierarchy and concept of happy life. However, it was found that when the results are examined exclusively for the Indian profile, it was observed that the Indian students gave highest percentage of emphasis to horizontal collectivism, usually choosing this category as descriptive of their values and beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Long-distance families are increasingly staying connected with free video conferencing tools. However research has highlighted a need for shared activities for long-distance family communication. While video technology is reportedly superior to audio-only tools for children under age 7, the tools themselves are not designed to accommodate children's or families' needs. This paper introduces four design explorations of shared play activities over video conferencing that support family togetherness between children and remote adult family members. We build on research in CSCW and child development to create opportunities for silliness and open-ended play between adults and young children. Our goal is to scaffold interaction across distance and generations.
This paper summarizes the author's recently published findings about differences in people's work-related values among 50 countries. In view of these differences, ethnocentric management theories (those based on the value system of one particular country) have become untenable. This concept is illustrated for the fields of leadership, organization, and motivation.© 1983 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1983) 14, 75–89
Video games can be a healthy social pastime during coronavirus pandemic
- M Snider
COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency
- L Sheerman
- H R Marston
- C Musselwhite
- D Morgan