Open AccessHow to be a gamer! Exploring personal and social indicators of gamer identity
Author(s) -
De Grove Frederik,
Courtois Cédric,
Van Looy Jan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/jcc4.12114
Subject(s) - identity (music) , friendship , mainstream , context (archaeology) , social identity theory , personal identity , social identity approach , social psychology , sociology , psychology , social group , aesthetics , self , political science , art , geography , archaeology , law
Over the past decades, digital games have continued to extend their audience as they moved into the cultural mainstream. Despite this fact, however, only a portion of those who play games consider themselves a gamer. Drawing on insights from social identity theory, this study explores the factors that contribute to why people attribute a gamer identity to self or others. It does so by considering 2 sites of identity construction: the social context of players and the broader cultural milieu. Results suggest that a gamer identity is first and foremost associated with stereotypical behaviors that find their origin in a consumption logic. Friendship networks, however, provide an important environment in which a gamer identity can be performed.