Extending the Study of Videogame Dependency
This article starts with the observation that the scientific and social debate on video game and internet dependency is driven by naturalist research standpoints used in psychology and neuroscience, while sociology and related disciplines in human and social studies widely ignore the phenomenon. Thi...
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| In: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/reset, |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Language: | Anglais |
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2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Summary: | This article starts with the observation that the scientific and social debate on video game and internet dependency is driven by naturalist research standpoints used in psychology and neuroscience, while sociology and related disciplines in human and social studies widely ignore the phenomenon. This can be viewed as an unnecessary thematic self-exclusion of sociology regarding its fruitful former discussion and analyses of dependency in general. After highlighting some of these studies, the article gives insight into an empirical research project which partly takes up this sociological tradition and transfers it to video game dependency: as part of a qualitative submodule of a study by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) on behalf of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, 15 biographical narrative interviews were conducted with video gamers of both sexes who, according to the CSAS-II screening instrument and/or self-analysis, are currently video game dependent or have been at some time in the past. Based on empirical analysis from this project, it is argued that video game and internet dependency not only deserve sociological consideration, but that a sociological analysis is vital in order to arrive at a more differentiated understanding of these complex phenomena. |
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