Abstract
This is an exploratory analysis conducted on data from a large scale representative survey related to opinions about online dating and video gaming in the U.S. The goal of this research is to understand the characteristics of individuals who have never participated in online dating or in playing video games, and yet have negative opinions about these activities. When individuals harbor negative opinions about an activity without having participated in it, one of the sources for these opinions is their (individuals’) context. Eighty five percent of respondents have never participated in online dating, and fifty percent have never participated in playing video games. Using the sociotechnical perspective to uncover the demographic context of non-participants’ negative opinions, this research finds that among those who have never participated in online dating, more negative opinions about online dating are associated with a higher frequency of internet usage, a lower education level, a more conservative political orientation and a lower income level. With respect to video gaming, among those who have never participated in video gaming, more negative opinions about video gaming are associated with a higher age and a more conservative political orientation. Additionally, for non-participants, a belief that people who play violent video games are more likely to be violent themselves is associated with higher age, lower income level, and being female.Shopping from home for a relationship via online dating and immersing oneself in augmented, mixed environments via video games are common activities in the present era. Yet, there is scarce research on non-participants in these activities even though these non-participants comprise at least half the population. By paying attention to these ignored groups, this study advances broader understanding of the individual and societal contexts under which individuals choose to not participate in these activities. Non-participation is related to technophobia and the findings from this study will help broaden understanding of that phenomenon.
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