Youth, friendship, play: a communication-scientific inquiry into the game-related practices of young people

This dissertation deals with the question how and why digital games are important in in the lives of young people. It does so by focusing on three main topics: game choice, gamer identity and the relation between friendship and digital games. On account of game choice, three studies are presented. The first study elaborates on the conceptual foundations regarding motives, environment and behavior related to play. The second study operationalizes the relevant concepts developed in the first study by means of a measurement instrument. Using this measurement instrument, the third study explores the relation between conscious motives, habit and the social structure in which players are embedded on the one hand and behaviors in terms of frequency and duration of play and the content that is played on the other hand. Results show that the importance of conscious motives, habit and social structure in explaining behavior varies depending on how behavior is conceptualized. The study on gamer identity asks which determinants are relevant in understanding why people categorize themselves or others as gamers. Results suggest a dialogue between how being a gamer is culturally constructed and the status of digital games in one’s friendship group. A gamer identity is first and foremost constructed through the performance of behaviors and characteristics linked to a prototypical gamer. The social structure, however, can create an environment in which a gamer identity can become relevant and valued. In other words, the social structure in which players are embedded contributes to a gamer identity over and above prototypical behaviors and characteristics. In our final study, we focus on the relation between friendship and digital games. The central question asks whether game and game-related practices are present in friendship networks and to what extent they are associated with the quality of those friendships. Findings indicate that talking about games within friendship networks is a widespread practice. To a lesser extent, the same is true for people playing digital games together. Similarly, talking about games and playing games together is associated with stronger friendship ties. In other words, digital games are a part of rather than separate to the everyday life of young people. What is more, it is also a part that significantly contributes to the quality of friendships. Taken together, these studies show how and why digital games can be important in the lives of young people. Digital games are a part of young people’s lives because they provide several ways in which players can enjoy their free time. More importantly, however, they are important to young people because they allow them to share. They provide a means for young people to find a place where they belong and through their shared, game-related practices, games allow for friendship relations to be maintained or strengthened. Underlying these studies is a framework that aims to explore how the relation between behaviors, the individual and social structure can be conceptualized and operationalized. Hence, in addition to understanding how and why digital games are important, this dissertation presents a pragmatic excursion into the question of agency and social structure. It does so by considering how network measures coincide with and relate to individual measures. Considering that social networks play a significant role for each of our topics, we believe that social network analysis can provide a promising addition to the toolbox of communication scientists