Video game-obsessed adults are far more likely to be working-class than middle-class, a new study suggests.
Researchers found middle-class gamers gradually decreased their playing time into their twenties as they began to focus on their careers. However, they noted a considerably less noticeable decline in the playing time of working-class gamers. The research team, from Loughborough University, suggest this contrast could be down to working-class adolescents tending to stick to childhood friendship groups which 'bond' during gaming sessions.
The researchers interviewed 37 gamers and analysed survey data on 3,357 English people aged between 16 and 34 for their study. From analysing this data and conducting their interviews, they discovered that among people aged between 20 and 24, 8.7 per cent working in higher managerial or professional jobs played video games every day, compared with a fifth (20 per cent) of those in routine or manual jobs. These same figures for 25 to 34 year olds were 8.7 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
"After age 20, the rate of those playing daily decreased dramatically among the middle-class, which contrasts with the routine-manual group where the decline is considerably less marked," Xiaobin Zhou, a lead author of the study, explained. Doctoral student Mr Zhou deduced from his interviews that behind this was middle-class participants' desire to succeed in their studies or chosen careers.
"Most middle-class and upwardly mobile participants' gaming time gradually decreased because of educational or professional responsibilities," he said. "They considered self-control a valuable achievement and underlined that they had found a balance between gaming as a hobby and normal life. Their self-disciplined habit was likely inculcated in higher education institutions and professional workplaces.
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"It affects participants' gaming as well as enhancing career and economic positions." The study, presented at the annual conference of the British Sociological Association, found that as middle-class participants moved away from home to study or work, they either gamed less with friends or switched to solo gaming instead - allowing them to fit the activity into their increasingly busy days.
The gaming habits of their working-class peers, however, changed far less into their early 20s as their life situation remained the same. "Working-class participants, especially in further education or not fully employed, often continued to play more frequently and for longer each session when transitioning to young adulthood," Mr Zhou said.
"Some held negative views about their gaming and considered they probably spent too much time gaming, which might not be healthy, but nonetheless rarely sought to control it. Not adopting such controlled gaming habits might make them acutely conscious or ashamed of their gaming."
The researchers often found that working-class participants remained in the same social circles throughout their lives and stressed the bonding they experienced when playing video games with their childhood friends - further encouraging them to play video games. One working-class interviewee told Mr Zhou he spent around eight hours a day playing video games, adding: "Maybe more, maybe less, depending on how well my gaming session is going.
"It's probably not a healthy amount, but for me, personally, I quite enjoy it." A middle-class participant conversely admitted that gaming now takes a 'back seat' in their life, saying: "I'd love to be able to play more and put more time into it but I know it's not the most important thing in my life at this point. It's always going to take a back seat to something else."
Mr Zhou, who suggested his team's study was the first ever to look at gaming in those transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood, added: "We can see video game studies flourishing during the past two decades, but the impact of social class on video gaming has been frequently overlooked."
The study also recorded data on the careers of 16 to 19-year-olds, a few of whom were in managerial jobs, with some even running their own businesses. Of these, a third (33 per cent) played video games every day, whilst this figure was five per cent higher (38 per cent) in those in routine or manual jobs.
Half of 16-19-year-olds in higher managerial roles had never played video games, compared with a third of those in routine or manual jobs. In those of a more advanced age, the figures were between 50 and 60 per cent for both classes.
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