Pressure to play: Social pressure in online multiplayer games

Abstract

Videogames cause public concerns about excessive gaming and the neglect of social relationships and obligations. This paper develops an empirically grounded, sociological explanation to understand excessive gaming. Theorizing that online multiplayer games encourage social capital acquisition, it is studied if, how and why social control is exerted over individual players. Based on in-depth interviews with 21 players three forms of social pressure are distinguished: social persuasion among gaming friends; social obligation in hierarchically structured game-groups; and social coercion in highly competitive game-groups. Hence, technologically enhanced in-game networks exert pressure on individual players and compete with offline social networks and obligations.