Poster #82 - Social Interaction and Relationship Development Among Emerging Adult Gamers

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

Emerging adulthood is a term that characterizes the developmental period of 18–25-year-olds; an age group that is less likely than previous generations to already have a spouse or children (Arnett, 2000). Because of delays in such relationship-milestones, emerging adults place a high emphasis on friendships to help them navigate the instability of their early-20's (Arnett, 2015; Barry et al., 2016). Although the current generation of emerging adults may have struggled with lack of face-to-face interaction with friends during the Covid-19 pandemic, many have grown up with the digital tools to stay social virtually.
One digital tool that provides emerging adults the opportunity to socially interact when face-to-face opportunities are limited is online gaming. The research study presented in this poster analyzes the social interactions that take place during online gaming to better understand how the virtual space is used by emerging adults to meet new people and maintain friendships. The study analyzes gaming through Activity Theory (Engeström, 1987; Leont'ev, 1979), a cultural-historical framework that considers how social activity mediates the behavior of individuals, and is changed by those individuals in the process.
The proposed poster will describe the findings of a qualitative case study that explored the social experiences of a group of five emerging adults between 18 and 24 years of age who regularly engage together in the online multiplayer game “League of Legends.” The research questions guiding the study were, “What are the social experiences of online, multiplayer gamers during emerging adulthood?” and “How do emerging adults use online multiplayer games as a social tool?” All five participants were members of the same online gaming community, despite living in different regions of the United States. The study consisted of three observations of the five participants gaming as a team to analyze the social interactions between players. In addition to observations, virtual individual interviews were conducted with each member of the gaming team to learn more about how online gaming fits into their social lives.
The data from interviews and observations was interpreted through the six elements of Engeström’s 2001 activity system model: the tools, subject, rules, community, division of labor, and object of the gaming activity. Analysis of the elements of the activity system led to the identification of three processes of socialization that are created within and unique to the online gaming environment: The method of communicating with fellow gamers, the development of friendship through digital technologies, and the co-construction of the meaning of friendship itself. The poster will explain how each social process is mediated through the elements of the activity system. Data analysis led to the conclusion that gamers feel confident in their ability to meet and sustain friendships through gaming because of the level of control they perceive over their engagement in the gaming community. The current study provides unique insight into how emerging adults might use online gaming to socialize in the middle of a global pandemic and through all the usual transitions of post-high school life.

Authors

• Mollie Rose Clark, University of Memphis
  Presenting Author

• Yeh Hsueh, The University of Memphis