Open AccessEscaping the Escapism: A Grounded Theory of the Addiction and Recovery Process in Online Video Gaming
Author(s) -
Jayson Carmona,
Jason B. Whiting
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4643
Subject(s) - grounded theory , escapism , constructivist grounded theory , addiction , psychology , the internet , process (computing) , perspective (graphical) , qualitative research , internet privacy , social psychology , computer science , world wide web , sociology , social science , neuroscience , operating system , artificial intelligence
The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the experience of people who struggled with self-described addiction to World of Warcraft™ (WoW). WoW is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), and many players have shared their stories of compulsive use and recovery efforts on two different websites: www.wowdetox.com, and a Reddit forum called /r/noWoW. We analyzed 140 unique posts on these sites to develop a process model describing how posters experienced addiction and recovery from WoW. We used grounded theory methods to create a model with categories including, time sink, impairment in work and relationships, and realization of loss. The process of recovery from compulsive WoW use included a series of realizations and the gamer “coming to themselves.” Implications for clinicians and researchers who study internet gaming disorder and related issues are offered.