The “Rush” o f Mediated Play

The “Rush”ofMediated Play Mary Chayko, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology/Communication The College of Saint Elizabeth/Rutgers University mchayko@cse.edu www.MaryChayko.com Twitter: @MaryChayko

Today… Today… • I’ll be talking about some of the sociological underpinnings of the “rush” often experienced in gaming, mediated play and playfulness in general • I’ll be referencing theory and research on play and the mediated/online experience and featuring my own theoretical and empirical contributions to this literature published in my book Portable Communities: The Social Dynamics of Online Connectedness (2008, SUNY Press – in particular Chapter 4, “Playing Around”) • These slides are available right now on my website MaryChayko.com under “Talks” • Feel free to share, reproduce or live-tweet any comments, thoughts, or questions regarding this presentation; in fact, I encourage it. The conference hashtag is #MediaCon13 and my twitter handle is… @MaryChayko

Research methodology • Qualitative research: Over a two-year period I sought detailed, in-depth accounts of the online experience – not intended to be widely generalizable but rather suggestive and illustrative of social forms (“a piece of the puzzle” describing online life) • I conducted 87 in-depth, multi-step, open-ended electronic email interviews with adults who were members of various types of online communities and networks • Interviewees were elicited through strategic informant (“snowball”) sampling • The sample skewed female, white, under 30 • I integrated findings with a comprehensive review and synthesis of relevant literature in fields ranging from sociology and communication to psychology, computer science, media studies and others relevant to internet studies @MaryChayko

What is play? Activity that tends to be… • Bounded apart from everyday life, separated from everyday pressures and obligations • Freely chosen • Noninstrumental • Absorbing • Escapist Play is a common and consistent aspect of life across cultures. It can also be quite serious in its characteristics and consequences. @MaryChayko

Play in everyday life • We can play games that have rules and structure (basketball, Monopoly) • We can play informally (tossing a Frisbee, running in and out of the ocean’s waves) • We can inject the spirit of play into some other act (chatting, working, sharing information, hanging out) • We can simply be in a playful state of mind (silly, happy, flirting, teasing, joking) @MaryChayko

Play is fundamentally interactive and relational • In play, we hone skills, interact with others, and form relationships • We model and experiment with social behaviors • When we play as children, we begin to shape our identities and our place in the world (Mead) • The same occurs during adult play • Play creates community and strengthens society • Play is fundamental to our humanity Mead, George H. 1934. Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press @MaryChayko

Mediated play • Computer-mediated communication is an inherently playful medium; we are invited online to edit and “play” with text and images, to “fiddle,” to invoke the frame of “make-believe” (Danet). • Playfulness occurs readily online, but most obviously in gaming, joking, gossiping, flirting, dating, and when “hanging out” in “third spaces” that ask little of us other than to contribute our presence in a relaxing and comfortable environment (Oldenburg). • Mediated play is good for us, helping us feel we belong to something larger, something communal, something fun. It relieves stress and enlivens the sometimes mundane or tedious nature of everyday life. It facilitates common understandings and can generate group solidarity, and in doing so, can contribute to the overall health of a society. Danet, Brenda. 2001. Cyberplay. Oxford: Berg @Mary Chayko Oldenburg, Ray. 1999. The Great Good Place. New York: Marlowe and Company

Mediated play oftengenerates a “buzz,” a “rush” This is produced and enhanced by… • The reality and meaning of the experience • Emotionality and intimacy • Ephemerality (or perceived ephemerality) of messages, of experience • The speed with which we often play and game online • Freedom from the constraints imposed by physical materials and contexts (Danet) • Release of dopamine into the brain’s pleasure centers • Entering into a state of “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi) • The creation of temporal symmetry (Zerubavel) and synchronicity (Schutz) • Mobility and portability (ability to play and connect anytime, anyplace; in unusual places, at odd hours, etc.) But mostly by……. @MaryChayko Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row Danet, Brenda. 2001. Cyberplay. Oxford: Berg Schutz, Alfred. 1951. Making Music Together: A Study in Social Relationship Social Research 18(1):76-97. Zerubavel, Eviatar. 1981. Hidden Rhythms. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Interactivity

…and Community

The “rush” of human engagement The quotes on the slides that follow are all from my Portable Communities interviewees, and focus on descriptions of this “rush,” this sensation: “One time I met a guy from Scotland online…we talked about anime and manga (Japanese books) and everything under the sun. It was crazy…it gave us a connection that we couldn’t ever have had otherwise. I felt giddy like I was going on a date or something. It was surreal.” (p 43) @MaryChayko

We see the “rush” in online gaming… “It is just fun for me and gives me a rush I can’t explain.” (p. 77) “You are never really bored…really you can use your mind, alleviate boredom, hang out, and make life more interesting…It is just fun. I love playing games, it makes me happy when I win.” (pp. 66-67) “I have a feeling of power.” (p. 191) @MaryChayko

…in flirting and chatting and “goofing around”… “It is definitely fun and exciting.” (p. 77) “It gives me a quick pick-me-up.” (p. 222) “There is some sort of thrill with sitting down at a computer and having thirty new messages. For some it freaks them out, but I really enjoy it.” (p. 127) @MaryChayko

…in just plain“hanging out” online… “It makes life just a tad more fun and exciting to feel that I am part of something other than family and work.” (p. 72) “I just like being there and I don’t know why.” (p. 30) “Sometimes when I get back to my room I just move the mouse and go to my favorite site and check my profile…and it’s like someone has left me gold or something!” (p. 62) @MaryChayko

…and in other playfulmediated activities • Blogging • Making and sharing media: videos, fanfiction, photos, etc. • Exploring a special interest: from reading to cooking to TV viewing to hiking • Online dating/sex/pornography • Gambling • Sports • Making/enjoying music • Shopping/selling/entrepreneurship • Following news/current events in general or in a specific field • Social media use and social networking in general: participating in discussions, offering and receiving support and capital, creating relationships and communities My interview subjects described feeling a “rush” in all these types of activities (among others) @MaryChayko

In closing… • Mediated play -- and online/digital activity in general -- provides many opportunities for genuine, meaningful, emotionally “charged” human interaction • In it, we make and maintain online relationships and form online communities. These may or may not exist offline as well, but in general, online activity tends to prompt, not deter, face-to-face interaction • In mediated play we feel a part of a larger whole; more “plugged into” society • All of this is symbolized and expressed by the “rush” described so well by my interviewees -- the “rush” of human engagement as it emerges in mediated play @MaryChayko

Thank you! @MaryChayko

The “Rush” o f Mediated Play