Legal Niches

Social Interaction as a Lynchpin of Gaming

By pete_gallagher

A love of the social aspects of videogames tends to drive any perceived dependence on games more so than a game's activity itself.

This is the angle a Kent State University article takes in examining the aspects of what fuels gamers to keep on playing, in addition to the subject of whether or not the term 'addiction' is fair to use in relation to videogames. KSU Sophomore Brian Clark weighed in on the latter subject, stating that the use of such a term was misleading:

Rather than craving the game itself, they crave the interaction they get in the game so rather than going out and having a real life social interaction, they're having social interactions with other people on a game.

The piece notes that a definition of someone addicted to videogames, as put forth by the American Medical Association (AMA), is a person that 'has more control and success over his or her social relationships in the virtual world than reality.'

World of Warcraft was mentioned often in the piece, with Clark admitting that a friend of his had a reliance on the online game, which Clark, again, attributed to the social aspect of WOW. The additional factor of playing a game that never really ends only increases the difficulty of putting a game like WOW aside noted student Connor Shivers.

Achievements can also be a powerful lure for gamers to keep playing. Clark's previously discussed WOW-loving friend also became reliant on them, 'He would play some Xbox games just for the fact of getting achievement points (on Xbox LIVE) and feeling like he accomplished something.'

GP: The definition as defined by the AMA probably needs to be updated as more and more relationships that begin in virtual worlds cross over to the real world. I would venture a guess that most hardcore gamers have befriended a fellow gamer via an online guild or clan and then met up with them IRL.

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on January 27, 2010 (boomark / email).