A Blur Line Between Hobby and Addiction: Online Video Gaming Among the Youth of Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

Online video games have become more popular among the youth and young adults in the past decade. These games are exceedingly addictive. The youths and young adults engage many hours of their day playing these games. This article is an attempt to understand the players’ perceptions and reasons for spending hours playing it. This article also explores the factors responsible for the growth of video games as a trending popular culture. The current study examines the impact of excessive gameplay on a gamers’ life as a whole. This study found out that graphics, gameplay, and story line of a gameplay play a vital role in the popularity of a particular game. It is the extra-realistic gaming experience that online games offer, which makes it so addictive. It is also revealed that players felt socially stigmatized for being a gamer since playing video games is not a socially accepted form of a hobby in Arunachal Pradesh unlike in some parts of the world. Basically, this article focuses on the insights of players about their experience as an insider in this gaming culture.