TY - JOUR

T1 - Individual pastime or focused social interaction

T2 - Gendered gaming practices among Danish youth

AU - Thorhauge, Anne Mette

AU - Gregersen, Andreas Lindegaard

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - This article outlines how gaming and video gameplay among Danish youth can be integral parts of everyday practices. The article is based on a mixed-methods study of video gameplay patterns among Danish children and young people aged 10–18 years. The study included a survey with a stratified random sample (N = 1560), follow-up in-depth interviews using purposive sampling from the survey respondents (N = 19) and focus group interviews with boys and girls (N = 2). We argue that pronounced differences in boys’ and girls’ gameplay patterns and preferences can be explained by the different ways in which gameplay is embedded into the social patterns of everyday life with family and friends. We identify two predominant gaming practices, one organised around competitive social play in teams and another around non-competitive solo play. These findings are discussed in the context of practice theory and existing work on gender and video games.

AB - This article outlines how gaming and video gameplay among Danish youth can be integral parts of everyday practices. The article is based on a mixed-methods study of video gameplay patterns among Danish children and young people aged 10–18 years. The study included a survey with a stratified random sample (N = 1560), follow-up in-depth interviews using purposive sampling from the survey respondents (N = 19) and focus group interviews with boys and girls (N = 2). We argue that pronounced differences in boys’ and girls’ gameplay patterns and preferences can be explained by the different ways in which gameplay is embedded into the social patterns of everyday life with family and friends. We identify two predominant gaming practices, one organised around competitive social play in teams and another around non-competitive solo play. These findings are discussed in the context of practice theory and existing work on gender and video games.

U2 - 10.1177/1461444818823546

DO - 10.1177/1461444818823546

M3 - Journal article

VL - 21

SP - 1444

EP - 1464

JO - New Media & Society

JF - New Media & Society

SN - 1461-4448

IS - 7

ER -