Social benefits of computer games

• Fong, P. and Forster, P.M. (2009). Social benefits of computer games. Proceedings of the 44th Annual APS Conference, 62 – 65.

Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC) has been identified as beneficial to the development of identity and the building of resilience and well-being in everyday life in Australia. However, a decline in the experience of PSOC in society has been associated with corresponding increases in loneliness, isolation and alienation. Some critics have identified computer games as playing a key role in social isolation and the weakening of communities. Are such criticisms fair? There is evidence that participating in virtual communities can contribute to a person’s PSOC and that people who play some types of computer games have social motivations for playing. We studied the Sense of Virtual Community (SOVC) and relationship motivation experienced by players of three types of computer game: Stand-Alone Games; Local and Wide Area Network (LAN/WAN) Games, and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG). Results show that those who play MMORPG have higher levels of SOVC than players of other types of games. They also show that those who play MMORPG and LAN/WAN games have higher levels of relationship motivation than players of Stand-Alone Games. The results suggest that, far from feeling isolated, the players of some types of computer game feel connected to others and derive a sense of community from their game playing.