Session Title

Session 1-4-E: Online Betting: New Perspectives

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation

Location

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Start Date

23-5-2023 3:45 PM

End Date

23-5-2023 5:15 PM

Disciplines

Leisure Studies | Sociology | Sociology of Culture

Abstract

Mobile games have become a major part of many people's everyday life, especially since the rise of the Free-to-Play (F2P) model which brought mobile gaming to the fore of gaming culture. As a “new” cultural phenomenon, “playing” is now accessible anytime, in part due to the widespread availability of mobile technologies that host these games. Drawing from key concepts of the social practices theory, this study aims to explore how do mobile F2P games fit into the players’ everyday activities and occupations. Specifically, in what ways can time, mobile technologies and games shape the integration of gaming practices into the everyday life of players?

Based on a thematic content analysis of 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews with players, it is possible to see how three key dimensions can shape mobiles F2P gaming practices, namely the characteristics of mobile F2P games, the use of mobile technologies, and the temporal dispositions of everyday life. These results highlight how social practices theory allows for a broader understanding of mobile F2P gaming practices by taking into account both the individual and structural aspects of this phenomenon.

So what? Situating mobile F2P gaming practices within the context of everyday life can shed light on their complete embeddedness in the player’s daily routines. It highlights how time can play a major role in shaping the gaming practices and raises key questions, namely the importance of time in mobile gaming addiction.

Keywords

mobile games, free-to-play gaming, everyday life, time, mobile technologies

Author Bios

Jean-Philippe Laforge is a Master’s student in Sociology at Concordia University. His research interests focus on everyday life, time and gaming. He is a research assistant in the gambling field since 2019.

Sylvia Kairouz is a full professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University. She published extensively in sociology, social epidemiology and public health journals. She is currently engaged in funded research examining social inequality in gambling, social responsibility and governance. She holds an FQRSC research chair on the study of gambling and is the head of the Lifestyle and Addiction Research Lab at Concordia University.

Annie-Claude Savard is associate professor in the School of Social Work and Criminology at Laval University. Her work delves into a critical study on gambling, focuses on the social construction of individual and collective responsibility, analyzes discourses in advertising and prevention messages and examines the medicalization of issues related to gambling.

Funding Sources

No funding body had any involvement in any aspects of the research including, not limited to, the research questions, methodology, research conduct, or analysis of results.

Competing Interests

The authors from this study have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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May 23rd, 3:45 PM May 23rd, 5:15 PM

Mobile Free-to-Play Gaming Practices: The Entanglement of Time, Technology and Games in Everyday Life

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Mobile games have become a major part of many people's everyday life, especially since the rise of the Free-to-Play (F2P) model which brought mobile gaming to the fore of gaming culture. As a “new” cultural phenomenon, “playing” is now accessible anytime, in part due to the widespread availability of mobile technologies that host these games. Drawing from key concepts of the social practices theory, this study aims to explore how do mobile F2P games fit into the players’ everyday activities and occupations. Specifically, in what ways can time, mobile technologies and games shape the integration of gaming practices into the everyday life of players?

Based on a thematic content analysis of 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews with players, it is possible to see how three key dimensions can shape mobiles F2P gaming practices, namely the characteristics of mobile F2P games, the use of mobile technologies, and the temporal dispositions of everyday life. These results highlight how social practices theory allows for a broader understanding of mobile F2P gaming practices by taking into account both the individual and structural aspects of this phenomenon.

So what? Situating mobile F2P gaming practices within the context of everyday life can shed light on their complete embeddedness in the player’s daily routines. It highlights how time can play a major role in shaping the gaming practices and raises key questions, namely the importance of time in mobile gaming addiction.