Through the research methods of questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews, this study aims to explore the identity construction process of Chinese youth in mobile games and its influencing factors. It has been found that players' identity construction is a complex, multidimensional, and dynamic process in which gaming experiences, social interactions, consumption behaviors, and emotional responses are key factors in construction of identity. Specifically, players construct and express their self-identity in mobile games through character selection, completion of in-game tasks, and in-game social interactions; online and offline social interactions enhance players' sense of belonging and recognition of their identity; players' consumption of virtual items improves players' status in the gaming community and their sense of self-recognition; and in-game emotional experiences have a significant impact on identity construction and recognition. In addition, gender stereotypes still exist in mobile games and have some degree of influence on players' identity construction in mobile games. Further, this study also focuses on analyzing the impact of the convergence of online and offline identities on Chinese youth's identity construction. This convergence promotes youth identity in both online and offline communities, reinforcing the influence of gaming culture in players' lives and blurring their self-presentation in different environments. However, while this convergence is an irreversible trend, there are specific types of games where players are avoiding it as much as possible because they want to establish distinct boundaries between online and offline identities for a better gaming experience and to try to explore more different identities in an anonymous environment. The contributions of this study are, first, to extend the application of identity construction and identity theory to online spaces and mobile games. Second, this study analyzes the behavioral patterns and characteristics of Chinese youth's identity construction in mobile games, demonstrating the new dynamics of youth identity construction in digital culture. Third, the results of the study provide theoretical support and relevance for understanding the behavior and psychology of contemporary Chinese youth in mobile games, and provide practical references for the fields of game design and policy making. In addition, this study has certain limitations, such as the small sample size and the primary reliance on qualitative data, which may lead to generalizability of the findings to be further verified, as well as the possibility of some degree of social desirability bias. Therefore, future research can be conducted to further validate and enrich the findings of this study by expanding the sample size, combining behavioral data and empirical research. It is worth to note that with the popularization of VR, AR and AI technologies, the boundaries of identity construction in offline and online spaces may be further blurred, and identity research will also be expected to usher in new theoretical challenges and opportunities, which provides a broad space for future research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-531809 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Yin, Shihao |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för informatik och media |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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