Transforming from Addicted Video Gamer to Doctoral Candidate: An Autoethnographic Reflection

Authors

Xiao Hu Dr., University of Science and Technology of China, ChinaFollow
Hongzhi Zhang Dr, Monash University, AustraliaFollow

Abstract

Video game addiction has become a significant concern in many countries with the development of the digital entertainment industry. Researchers have devoted their efforts to understanding the causes of video game addiction and seeking solutions and treatment approaches to help reduce the addictive problem. Similar to the worldwide situation, video game addiction issues are also a major socio-cultural problem in China. Although qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used in video game addiction studies, current research still follows the model of collecting data from objective participants and then analysing it. Contrarily, there is a lack of first-person empirical data on overcoming video game addiction. This research adopts the autoethnographic approach to study video game addiction topics. The outcome indicates that the author’s game addiction is mainly created by seeking fun in gameplay and escapism from real-life problems. The factors that help the author overcome the addiction and further turn into a positive influence in his life include shifting attention and making life more purposeful.

Keywords

addiction, video games, motivation, prevention, autoethnography

Author Bio(s)

Dr Xiao Hu is a postdoctoral researcher working at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). His research interest locates on internationalisation of higher education and educational technology, especially the gamification applications in education. His currently work investigates the development of students’ collaborative problem-solving skill with the digital technology assistance. Please direct correspondence to xiaohu13@ustc.edu.cn.

Dr Hongzhi Zhang is a senior lecture at School of Education, Culture and Society in the Faculty of Education, Monash University. His main research interests lie in educational equity, education policy, Asia study, and curriculum and pedagogy. Drawing on educational philosophies of Asian traditions, Hongzhi’s research about “Asia as method” is innovative and influential. He has established “Asia as method” as a researchable concept and contributed influential theoretical and empirical developments in research about “Asia as method” in educational studies, particularly how it can be developed in multicultural, postcolonial Asia countries and for it to be culturally expansive in Western education systems as an ideal and as a practice across cultures. His particular foci have been in researching an overall “Asia as pedagogy” to help to cultivate a new research imagination in Australian cross-curriculum priority “Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia.”

Publication Date

11-5-2022

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5528

Recommended APA Citation

Hu, X., & Zhang, H. (2022). Transforming from Addicted Video Gamer to Doctoral Candidate: An Autoethnographic Reflection. The Qualitative Report, 27(11), 2404-2418. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5528

ORCID ID

0000-0002-8322-3204