Socialization via Online Gaming: Perspectives of Five Autistic Adolescents and Their Parents

Abstract

This study investigated whether autistic adolescents are socially motivated to play Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and sought to explore whether parents’ perceptions of MMORPGs and the closeness of the parent-child relationships’ impact upon gaming habits. In a qualitative-based study, we explored the perspectives of five pairs of autistic adolescents and one of their parents. The themes identified through adolescent interviews indicated that autistic adolescents who play MMORPGs perceive that in-game socializing enhances their gaming experience which motivates them to socialize with other players and facilitates development of friendships. The themes derived from interviewing parents indicated that parents perceive social benefits to playing MMORPGs for their child, but there are factors that impact their support of socializing via gaming such as their own game use, attitudes towards socializing via games, and the amount of time their child spends gaming. This study’s findings suggest that playing MMORPGs can potentially enhance quality-of-life for autistic adolescents through increased socialization and friendships and highlights the importance of the parent-child relationship and how this supports autistic adolescents to develop socially. However, as there were no parent-child pairs reporting low closeness, the transferability of these findings may be limited to parent-child pairs with close relationships. This research indicates that parents who play games alongside their autistic child are more likely to be more understanding of, and acknowledge, the social benefits of gaming in helping their child develop socially. These findings have implications for the development of cost-efficient, accessible interventions to facilitate socialization.