The study builds on Manchanda's previous research on addiction, which used data on actual gaming behavior in the real world to investigate video game addiction. Previous research on video game addiction rates has focused on individuals' expressions of addiction through surveys and questionnaires. Rather than looking at playing time alone as an important indicator of addiction, Manchanda and Blanco looked at consumption rates to see if playing video games led to more playing.
In exploring data from computer game streaming platforms. vaporManchanda and Blanco were able to look at consumption and addictive behavior objectively.
“When we think of addicts, our definition is that playing video games makes them want to play more video games,” Blanco said. “Our methodological approach allows us to test each individual's behavior individually and determine the prevalence of addiction within the gamer population.”
Using this definition, we found that, depending on the type of video game, only 14.6 to 18.3 percent of the 13,400 video gamers in our sample played games. vapor Shows signs of addictive consumption. As Manchanda and Branco pointed out, this can be a surprising statistic depending on an individual's relationship with the video game industry.
“If you tell this story to some parents, they'll think, 'That's too low, right?'” But if you share this with gamers, they'll think, “Oh, that's outrageously high.” . Your definition of addiction must be wrong,” Manchanda said. “When I started researching gambling, I discovered a similar situation. At first, [advocates] You must agree to the number. The problem then is the valence of that number. Is it positive or negative? And that depends on your worldview, your experiences, who you are, and whether you're a video game player or not. ”
One particularly influential finding was that there was little difference in addiction rates between types of video games. The new style of “battle royale” games have many detractors. fortnite, apex legendsand Valorant. Casual observers believe that the game is intentionally designed to be addictive due to its bright animations and increased free access.
Manchanda and Blanco found that despite claims that some video games are intentionally designed to be addictive, game characteristics are not strong predictors of addictive status. I shared that I understood.
“We looked at the nuances of all the different types of games and tried to correlate them with addiction parameters, and we found that there wasn't much of a correlation,” Manchanda said. “From my discussions with game designers, they're all designing engaging games. Perhaps his one explanation is that all these games are on. vapor It's meant to keep you coming back. Therefore, one game does not have a different advantage over the other. ”
A more accurate predictor of addiction is the individual's propensity for addictive consumption. In other words, video games aren't inherently addictive because of any particular design element or genre. Rather, individuals' specific needs are addictively met by video games.
“Playing video games related to survival, RPGs, single-player, shooters, etc. is highly correlated with addiction, but the type of game rarely explains addictive behavior,” Blanco said. Ta. “This suggests that addiction is primarily determined by a person's unique characteristics.”
Additionally, this study found that addictive subgroups within the gaming population have several unique characteristics that differentiate them from the overall population of gamers. For example, people classified as video game addicts, on average, own more games, have more friends on the platform, play longer sessions, and are more likely to purchase new games. It will be expensive.
The problems that Manchanda and Blanco identified in their research regarding the addictive nature of video games continue today. In future research, Manchanda and Blanco hope to explore the effects of video games on rational and irrational behavior, the ethics of video game marketing and advertising, and specific video game design features. There is.
paper, Are video games addictive?: An empirical analysis Submitted for publication.
