More than addiction: Examining the role of anonymity, endless narrative, and socialization in prolonged gaming and instant messaging practices

Abstract

This ethnographic study explores a user’s prolonged engagement within virtual gaming communities. Likening prolonged engagement with addiction, this research provides an alternative perspective into virtual addiction focusing on three interrelated themes: 1) anonymity, 2) endless narrative, and 3) socialization. By employing narrative interviews and virtual observations, the researchers examine two different cultural, racial and age groups’ user experience within console and computer-based multiplayer environments. More specifically, they explore how the three factors (i.e., anonymity; endless narrative; socialization) relate to the prolonged and extended use within these virtual communities and highlight the multifaceted uses of traditional chat services, social media, and the convergence of media existing within these chat communities.

Authors and Affiliations

Kishonna Gray, Wanju Huang

Keywords

Related Articles

Misunderstanding opportunities: (post-)resettlement issues in the Recea neighbourhood of Alba Iulia

Although its gold mining project has been locked in public debates and permit reviews for over a decade, a Canadian-Romanian company privately negotiated with the inhabitants of Roşia Montană commune, Romania, to buy t...

Bringing the doctor inside the care: the use of stories in doctorpatient communication

Narrative-Based Medicine is a recent important area of research and practice which aims to provide theoretical and empirical constructs for medical practice and doctor-patient communication. In health services, medical...

Motive, desire, drive: the discourse of force

A review of the original paper on motive by Blum and McHugh (1971) is used as an occasion to make transparent an approach to social theory as it has developed over the years in their work. This method, in treating moti...

Mr. Zuckerberg and the Internet. An essay on power relations and privacy negotiation.

This essay aims to analyze the power relations existing within one of the most interesting events of the last few months, namely, Mark Zuckerberg’s hearing before the American Congress, on the Cambridge Analytica scand...

From land to sea: unsettling subjectivities

In this paper I trace an important conceptual shift which emerged during my fieldwork with fishermen in the South West of Ireland. I begin by describing how my role as a social researcher was interpreted as a valuable...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP41027
  • DOI -
  • Views 233
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Kishonna Gray, Wanju Huang (2015). More than addiction: Examining the role of anonymity, endless narrative, and socialization in prolonged gaming and instant messaging practices. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, 6(1), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-41027