Title: Gaming dependency among Indian adolescents: a phenomenological study

Authors: Anjali Malik; Rajeev Kumra; Smitha Girija

Addresses: S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Inside Bhavan's College Campus, Munshi Nagar, Dadabhai Road, Andheri West, Mumbai, 400 058, India ' IIM – Lucknow, B-1, Sector 62, Noida, 201301, India ' IILM Institute for Higher Education, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, India

Abstract: Multiple factors influence the development of gaming dependency among adolescents. Much of the extant literature identified risks associated with its development and its consequences. However, impact of Indian culture and family characteristics on gaming dependency in India is largely unknown. The paper reports the findings of an exploratory study, using phenomenological in-depth interview technique, examining whether the prevalence of gaming dependency varies according to cultural affiliation with specific reference to Indian culture. A group of 15 adolescents were phenomenologically interviewed after being identified as game dependent out of total 486 respondents. Three major themes explicated from participants spontaneous experiences are risk arising from gamer characteristics, familial factors and game characteristics. The results were discussed with respect to the influence of Indian culture and family system on gaming behaviour of adolescents. Family cohesiveness and close parental monitoring are some of the protective factors in Indian culture.

Keywords: problematic gaming; risk factors; India; adolescents; gaming dependency; phenomenology; youth; young people; culture; family cohesiveness; parental monitoring; cultural affiliation; game characteristics; gamer characteristics; gaming behaviour.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2016.075539

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2016 Vol.12 No.3, pp.361 - 375

Received: 22 Jan 2015
Accepted: 28 Feb 2015
Published online: 28 Mar 2016 *

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