Understanding massively multiplayer online role‐playing game addiction: A hedonic management perspective

TLDR

Massively multiplayer online role‑playing game (MMORPG) addiction is a worldwide problem that has attracted increasing academic and public attention. This article proposes and tests a research model of MMORPG addiction to fill existing gaps. The authors developed a hedonic‑management‑based model linking achievement, social, and immersion affordances to perceived positive mood enhancement and negative mood reduction, and tested it with structural equation modelling on 406 players. Both perceived positive mood enhancement and negative mood reduction positively correlate with MMORPG addiction; achievement and immersion affordances drive these hedonic effects, while social affordance does not, providing insights for developers and policymakers.

Abstract

Abstract Massively multiplayer online role‐playing game (MMORPG) addiction presents a serious issue worldwide and has attracted increasing attention from academic and other public communities. This article addresses this critical issue and fills research gaps by proposing and testing a research model of MMORPG addiction. Building on the conceptual foundation of the hedonic management model of addiction and the technology affordance perspective, we develop a research model explaining how MMORPG affordances (ie, achievement, social and immersion affordances) are associated with the duality of hedonic effects (ie, perceived positive mood enhancement and perceived negative mood reduction) and the extent of MMORPG addiction. Using structural equation modelling, we empirically test our research model with 406 MMORPG players. The results show that both perceived positive mood enhancement and perceived negative mood reduction positively correlate with the extent of MMORPG addiction. Furthermore, achievement and immersion affordances are positively associated with the duality of hedonic effects, whereas social affordance is not. Our study contributes to the growing body of technology addiction literature by revealing the relationships between the two hedonic effects and the extent of MMORPG addiction, and by offering a contextualised explanation of the role of MMORPG affordances in these relationships. We offer an alternative perspective on the far‐reaching, unintended relationships between technological affordances and addictive technology use. Our study provides game developers and policymakers with insights into preventing MMORPG addiction to create an entertaining, healthy virtual playground.