Physical Interpersonal Relationships and Social Anxiety among Online Game Players

Many online game players spend inordinate amounts of time in their favorite virtual worlds. A large percentage of these players are teenagers who show behaviors normally associated with physical addiction. Parents, educators, and social scientists are therefore saying that online games are sources of social problems. The authors surveyed 174 Taiwanese college-age online players to collect data on the potential effects of online games on the quality of interpersonal relationships and levels of social anxiety. According to the results, the quality of interpersonal relationships decreased and the amount of social anxiety increased as the amount of time spent playing online games increased.

[1]  Yair Amichai-Hamburger,et al.  "On the Internet No One Knows I'm an Introvert": Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Internet Interaction , 2002, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[2]  C. Brenner,et al.  The mind in conflict , 1982 .

[3]  James C. Ward,et al.  Virtual Community: a Sociocognitive Analysis , 1996 .

[4]  K. Young,et al.  Psychology of Computer Use: XL. Addictive Use of the Internet: A Case That Breaks the Stereotype , 1996, Psychological reports.

[5]  Shelia R. Cotten,et al.  The Relationship between Internet Activities and Depressive Symptoms in a Sample of College Freshmen , 2003, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[6]  Bernard G. Guerney,et al.  Relationship enhancement : [skill-training programs for therapy, problem prevention, and enrichment] , 1977 .

[7]  Viktor Brenner.  Psychology of Computer Use: XLVII. Parameters of Internet Use, Abuse and Addiction: The First 90 Days of the Internet Usage Survey , 1997, Psychological reports.

[8]  H. Inderbitzen,et al.  The role of social anxiety in adolescent peer relations: differences among sociometric status groups and rejected subgroups. , 1997, Journal of clinical child psychology.

[9]  Sanford Grossbart,et al.  Usenet Groups, Virtual Community and Consumer Behaviors , 1998 .

[10]  Sujin Lee,et al.  Internet Over-Users' Psychological Profiles: A Behavior Sampling Analysis on Internet Addiction , 2003, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[11]  D. Abwender,et al.  Social anxiety and peer relationships in early adolescence: A prospective analysis. , 1992 .

[12]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? , 1998, The American psychologist.

[13]  Carolyn S. Henry,et al.  THE MODIFIED INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP SCALE: RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY , 1993 .

[14]  I Ibáñez,et al.  Online chat rooms: virtual spaces of interaction for socially oriented people. , 2002, Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society.

[15]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Breaking the Stereotype: The Case of Online Gaming , 2003, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[16]  G. Loewenstein,et al.  The Effect of Ownership History on the Valuation of Objects , 1998 .

[17]  W. Stone,et al.  Development of the Social Anxiety Scale for Children: Reliability and Concurrent Validity , 1988 .

[18]  A. La Greca,et al.  Social Anxiety Among Adolescents: Linkages with Peer Relations and Friendships , 1998, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[19]  K. Walters,et al.  Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents: Normative Data and Further Evidence of Construct Validity , 2000, Journal of clinical child psychology.

[20]  Keith J. Anderson.  Internet Use Among College Students: An Exploratory Study , 2001, Journal of American college health : J of ACH.