Accepted Manuscript

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and, socio-emotional

wellbeing

Fan Zhang, David Kaufman

PII: S0747-5632(17)30238-8
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.008
Reference: CHB 4902

To appear in: Computers in Human Behavior

Received Date: 1 October 2016

Revised Date: 8 March 2017
Accepted Date: 3 April 2017

Please cite this article as: Zhang F. & Kaufman D., Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games
(MMORPGs) and, socio-emotional wellbeing, Computers in Human Behavior (2017), doi: 10.1016/
j.chb.2017.04.008.

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and

Socio-Emotional Wellbeing

Fan Zhang1 and David Kaufman2

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Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University,
8888 University Drive,
Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6
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fza26@sfu.ca, 2dkaufman@sfu.ca

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Corresponding author: Fan Zhang, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, 8888

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University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6. Tel +1-604-353-3968. Email fza26@sfu.ca

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Running head: MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 1

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)

and Socio-Emotional Wellbeing
Abstract

Expanding and building on our previous study, the current study mainly explored the degree to

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which older adults’ social interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

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(MMORPGs) are associated with four socio-emotional factors. A total of 222 older World of

Warcraft players, recruited online, completed a Web questionnaire. Consistent with the findings

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of the previous study, older adults’ socio-emotional wellbeing was associated with the quality of

guild play and enjoyment of relationship. Socio-emotional wellbeing was not associated with the

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amount of gameplay, intensity of interaction, network level and social motivation for playing
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MMORPGs. In addition, the findings also indicated that a large number of older adults
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developed meaningful online relationships with their game friends, but that it would be difficult

for them to integrate these online friends into their ‘real’ lives.
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Keywords: social interaction; socio-emotional wellbeing; MMORPGs; older adults

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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 2

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games and Socio-Emotional Well Being

Gerontology researchers have established that social interaction is important for successful

aging. A decrease in social interaction and cognitive decline have become a normal part of

ageing, leading to serious social and emotional challenges such as loneliness and depression.

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Due to the in-game mechanisms, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

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(MMORPGs) are online communities where older adults can build and maintain meaningful and

supportive relationships, but there is still a lack of understanding of whether or how these occur.

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This research investigated older adults' social interactions in MMORPGs and the degree to which

these are associated with four socio-emotional factors - loneliness, depression, social support,

and belongingness.
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Background

Social interaction and older adults

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Social interaction (also referred to as social engagement, social involvement, social

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connectedness, or social participation) is an important component of successful aging (Ristau,

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2011). Social and mental wellbeing may be more important than physical health to overall

wellbeing (Giummarra, Haralambous, Moore, & Nankervis, 2007; Lewis, 2014). Baumeister
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and Leary (1995) pointed out that belongingness is a fundamental human need. Having

numerous direct ties to people offers many opportunities for valuable resources (Cornwell,
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Laumann, & Schumm, 2008). Friends provide older adults “an immediate situation of openness,
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reciprocity, and positive feedback that engenders enjoyment and subjectively meaningful

exchanges” (Larson, Mannell, & Zuzanek, 1986, p.117).

It is widely agreed that subjective wellbeing is positively associated with both the quality

and quantity of relationships in all populations. Nezlek, Richardson, Green, and Schatten-Jones
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 3

(2002) found that people who reported more rewarding social interactions reported greater

psychological wellbeing than those who had less rewarding social interactions; people with

larger social networks reported greater wellbeing and less loneliness than those with smaller

networks. In addition, interactions with strong ties (family and close friends), weak ties

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(acquaintances), and strangers have all been found to be related to subjective wellbeing

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(Sandstrom & Dunn, 2014). It is unclear how social interaction influences successful aging

(Mendes de Leon, 2005), but a commonly accepted assumption is that social interaction

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stimulates older adults' cognitive function to actively participate in complex interpersonal

exchanges (Brenowitz, 2012; Gow, Pattie, Whiteman, Whalley, & Deary, 2007). Participation in

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social activities also provides meaningful social roles and feelings of life purpose, which may
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direct neurohormonal influences on the brain (James, Wilson, Barnes, & Bennett, 2011).

Introduction to World of Warcraft

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World of Warcraft (WoW), a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

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(MMORPG), is currently ranked number one in the world in terms of online subscribers
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(Activision Blizzard, 2015). The core gameplay of WoW involves fighting monsters,

completing quests and levelling up. Some quests are so challenging that they can only be
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addressed by a group of players, but they also offer better rewards. What makes playing WoW

such an enjoyable experience is that players can interact with thousands of other players in the
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same virtual environment at the same time. There are two important types of interactive groups
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in WoW: (1) Groups are small and temporary associations of up to five players that come to an

end once all members leave or log off; (2) Guilds are more permanent and much larger groups of

players that play together regularly and have a stronger commitment to group activities. WoW

includes a sophisticated chat system in which players can set up private channels if they want to
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 4

talk to friends only, or chat in the local/global chat channels if they want to reach a larger

audience. Guilded players can create a guild chat channel, or use the built-in voice chat system

called Voice over IP (VoIP), an Internet-based auditory chatting system.

Based on Blumer’s theory, Chen and Duh (2007) defined social interaction in MMORPGs

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as “a dynamic process of meaning-making occurring within a historical context and examinable

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through the analysis of game language and game joint actions of players” (p.22). Social

interaction is a primary motivation for playing MMORPGs, and is positively related to players’

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enjoyment (Yee, 2006a). Williams et al. (2006) created a typology to categorize guilds by goals,

size, and membership. They also defined the basic types of guild as social, player-vs.-player

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(PvP), raid, and role-play. The in-game goal of a purely social guild would be social
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interactions. This type of guild is usually created by people who already know each other in

‘real’ life. The primary goal of a PvP guild is to increase their status and ranking on public
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boards. They are grouped to fight with other factions. Raid is the most complex team-based task
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within MMORPGs and requires team management and a well-developed communication

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network. According to Williams et al. (2006), guilds with less than 10 members, 11-35

members, 36-150 members, and more than 150 members are labeled as small, medium, large,
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and huge, respectively. Generally, smaller guilds are socially bonded, while larger guilds focus

more on game tasks. Large guilds also require more formal management and organizational
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practices, which makes it impractical for members to know well or care about each other.
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Social and emotional meanings of playing digital games for older adults

De Schutter and Vanden Abeele (2010), in a qualitative study to investigate the meanings of

digital games in older adults’ lives, found a list of seven social meanings of playing digital

games in terms of connectedness, cultivation and contribution:

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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 5

• Competition with partner and children

• Overcoming challenges with (grand)children
• Learning from children
• A way to help and teach grandchildren
• A way to meet new people
• A way to stay in touch with younger people
•

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Coping with loneliness

This list of social values shows that older adults can obtain social and emotional support from

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gameplay. Gameplay is a means for structuring a conversation with children or with real-life

friends. It even promotes interaction with new social partners. However, older adults are more

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likely to play with someone they know well than meet complete strangers (De Schutter &

Vanden Abeele, 2010). For some older adults, gameplay provides a means to cope with

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loneliness. De Schutter and Vanden Abeele indicated that this list of social meanings of playing
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digital games provides a valuable lens to envision the meanings of digital games for older adults.
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However, their study did not specifically focus on MMORPGs.

Social-emotional impacts of playing MMORPGs

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Examining the social and emotional effects of MMORPG usage has become a topic of
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systematic research. Visser, Antheunis, and Schouten (2013) investigated the relationships

between playing WoW and adolescents’ loneliness. The results showed that there was no
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significant direct relationship between the amount of gameplay and loneliness. However, there

was an indirect effect mediated by communicating with a variety of other players. Adolescents
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who communicate with a variety of players in WoW are less likely to feel lonely. Dupuis and
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Ramsey (2011) tested a mediated model in which they examined whether social involvement in

MMOPRGs would be associated with depression via social support. The findings showed that

involvement in MMORPGs was not related to perceived social support, but a lack of perceived

social support was associated with higher level of depression. Trepte, Reinecke, and Juechems
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 6

(2012) examined whether the physical and social proximity as well as mutual familiarity of

online game players influence bridging and bonding social capital. The findings showed that

playing online digital games may lead to strong social ties if players can continue their online

activities beyond the game and extend these with offline activities. Domahidi, Festl, and Quandt

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(2014) examined the interrelation of playing online games and the friendship of players. The data

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analysis did not find a significant difference between social players and other players or non-

players in terms of the number of good friends. However, social players had the highest

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probability of meeting online friends and extending their online relationships to real life. The

above studies have revealed a range of positive impacts of playing MMORPGs on players’

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psychological wellbeing. These studies went beyond the simple measure of amount of gameplay
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as the level of social interaction, and examined both the online and offline effects of the various

social phenomenon formed by playing MMORPGs. However, a major problem of these studies
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is the different conceptualizations of social interactions in MMORPGs.

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Research questions
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The rise of online games comes at a particular historical moment for social reasons (i.e., the

steady decay of real-world civic and social institutions experience) as well as technological ones
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and prompts a wide array of questions (Williams, 2006). Playing MMORPGs links people from

all over the world as they engage in a shared virtual world and collective play experience. The
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findings of a previous study showed that enjoyment of relationships and quality of guild play
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were significantly related to older adults’ socio-emotional wellbeing (Zhou, 2016). However, this

study did not include social motivation for playing MMORPGs as a covariate. Social motivation

is a central element for understanding the social outcomes of playing MMORPGs (Domahidi et

al., 2014). In addition, this study did not investigate whether older adults' social interactions in
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 7

MMORPGs are associated with the feeling of belongingness which reflects a different but highly

related social condition. Belongingness is an important factor when examining the socio-

emotional impacts of MMORPGs due to the features of online gaming (e.g., community

development and commitment to group activities).

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The research questions of the current study include:

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How are older adults’ social interactions in MMORPGs associated with four socio-

emotional factors (i.e., loneliness, depression, social support, and belongingness)?

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Is social motivation for playing MMORPGs a significant covariate?

Conceptualization of social interaction in MMORPGs

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The current study used the four social interaction components conceptualized by Zhou
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(2015, 2016), including intensity of interaction, network level, enjoyment of relationships, and
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quality of guild play (see below). The four components were based on a framework developed by

Williams (2010) to map behaviours in virtual worlds. In the last decade, a range of research
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methods have been used to generate insights about the social dynamics of MMORPGs
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communities. Yee's online studies (2006a, 2006b, 2006c) provided benchmark data about the

different types of in-game social activities. Qualitative studies were carried out to explore the
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attitudes, experiences and feelings of MMORPGs players (Hussain & Griffiths, 2009).

Ethnographic observations were used to map out social interactions within MMORPG and
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provide a broad framework of the factors affecting social interactions (Chen & Duh, 2007).
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Researchers also studied social activities in MMORPGs based on longitudinal behavioural data

collected directly from the game’s software and provided insights on players' social networks

and relationships with other players and guild members (Billieux et al., 2013; Ducheneaut &

Yee, 2008; Shen, Monge & Williams, 2012). The indicators of each social interaction component
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were drawn from the findings of these studies.

Intensity of interaction. The indicator of intensity of interaction is the frequency of

communicating with other players via in-game general chat, group chat, private chat, and

voice chat, social media and face-to-face meetings. The purpose of communication varies

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from conquering the difficult quests to maintaining and developing relationships

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(Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006). Pena and Hancock (2006) mentioned that

communication in MMORPGa plays an important role in shaping relationships dynamics.

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Network level. Network level is another key variable when understanding social

interactions in MMOPRs (Williams, 2010). It has great predictive power for

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understanding motivations, group behaviours and information flows (Monge &
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Contractor, 2003). In MMORPGs, the measure of network level is the same as centrality,

which refers to the frequency of playing with family, real-life friends, game friends
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(people who meet in MMORPGs) or other players (Shen et al., 2012).

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Enjoyment of relationships. Enjoyment of relationships refers to the depth of

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relationships formed with family, real-life friends and game friends. It can affect how

much social support older adults can exchange within their social networks. The
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indicators of enjoyment of relationship include: (1) talking about the game with family

and real-life friends; (2) closeness to family and real-life friends, and (3) depth of
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relationships with game friends (e.g., sharing personal problem with game friends and
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trusting game friends, seeing game friends as important as real-life friends). These items

were identified as deep relationships in the studies of Steinkuehler and Williams (2006)

and Williams et al. (2006).

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Quality of guild play. The indicators of quality of guild play include the amount of

guild play and players' assessment of their guilds (i.e., assessment of guild organization,

leadership, and guild mates). Players in well-structured guilds tend to develop more

social experiences than others who are dissatisfied with the guild's objectives, elitism,

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and poor leadership (Williams et al., 2006). Therefore, the quality of guild play

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determines whether its impact on older adults' social interactions is positive or negative.

Research hypotheses

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With advanced age, older adults’ social network developed through a lifetime will decrease

and even diminish (Eure, 2014). Actively participating in social activities and maintaining

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interpersonal relationships is important for older adults to maintain good physical and emotional
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health and stay sharp (Charles & Carstensen, 2009). MMORPGs foster informal sociability and

cultivate virtual communities. The depth of social experiences in MMORPGs ranges from
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superficial online relationships to sustained and deep relationships that extend to off-line (Zhou,
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2015). Playing MMORPGs provides many opportunities to obtain social resources, which may
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buffer people from stresses in daily life (Cohen & Willis, 1985). Therefore, the research

hypotheses of the current study are:

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• Hypothesis 1: Intensity of interaction is positively related to higher levels of social

support and belongingness and lower levels of loneliness and depression.

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• Hypothesis 2: Network level is positively related to higher levels of social support and
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belongingness and lower levels of loneliness and depression.

• Hypothesis 3: Enjoyment of relationships is positively related to higher levels of social

support and belongingness and lower levels of loneliness and depression.

• Hypothesis 4: Quality of guild play is positively related to higher levels of social support
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 10

and belongingness and lower levels of loneliness and depression.

Methods

Justification of research method and participants

An online survey is an effective way to receive appropriately large numbers of responses

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due to the geographic dispersion of WoW players. Williams, Consalvo, Caplan, and Yee (2009)

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pointed that self-selection sampling is the most effective method of gathering data from the

population of MMORPG players. Shen and Williams (2011) examined the connections between

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MMORPGs use and psychological well-being by combining self-reported data of EverQuest II (a

MMORPG) players and their behavioural data collected by the game engine. Behavioural data

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could provide more accurate measures of older adults’ social activities in MMORPGs (e.g.,
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frequency of trading and chatting) than self-reported data. However, the game engine does not

record players’ demographic information. Thus, it is unable to select older adults’ behaviour data
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from game server logs. What’s more, behaviour data does not provide insights on older adults’
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interactions with family and real-life friends, enjoyment of relationships and quality of guild
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play. So, in this research a Web quantitative questionnaire was used to collect data.

Technology use drops off notably starting at around age 75 (Smith, 2014) and decreases
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significantly with greater limitations in physical function and greater disability (Gell, Rosenberg,

Demiris, LaCroix, & Patel, 2015). Age-related physical changes and even impairments in their
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seventies or eighties may negatively affect older adults’ use of MMORPGs. In addition, for
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people aged 55 and older, retirement from work may have either been reached or is on the

horizon, although they are still active. It is hypothesized that people at this age play more

MMORPGs compared to “old” older adults. Therefore, in this study, age 55 was set as the lower

age limit. Participants were adults aged 55 and over, English speakers, and WoW players.
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An invitation message with the URL (http://fluidsurveys.com/surveys/david-C/older-adults-

and-wow/) to a Web questionnaire was posted on eight MMORPGs forums (e.g., The Older

Gamers, WOW Interface, The Old Timers Guild). Respondents signed a digital consent form

before being forwarded to the questionnaire. A total of 222 older adults who completed the

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survey were the participants of the current study.

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Measurements

The Web questionnaire consisted of three main sections: the four components of social

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interaction in MMORPGs, the four social and emotional factors, and gameplay experience. For

intensity of interaction, respondents were asked to indicate on a five-point scale (1=Never, 5=All

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the time) how frequently they communicate with other players via public chat, group chat,
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private chat, in-game voice chat, social media, and face-to-face meeting. For network level,

respondents were asked to indicate on a five-point scale (1=Never, 5=All the time) the frequency
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of playing with family, real-life friends, game friends, and other players. Enjoyment of
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relationships was measured by two dimensions: topics discussed with family, real-life friends
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and game friends, and depth of relationships. For the measure of discussing topics, respondents

were asked to indicate on a five-point scale (1=Never, 5=All the time) the frequency of engaging
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in these actions: (1) Talk about WoW with family; (2) Talk about WoW with real-life friends; (3)

Share personal problems with game friends. Respondents also indicated on a five-point scale
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(1=Strongly disagree, 5=Strongly agree) the degree to which they agree with these statements:
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(1) Playing with family members makes me feel closer to them; (2) Playing with real-life friends

makes me feel closer to them; (3) I trust my game friends; (4) My game friends are as important

to me as my real-life friends. Quality of guild play was measured by weekly time spent in guild

play and the degree (1=Very dissatisfied, 5=Very satisfied) to which respondents are satisfied
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with the organization of the guild, guild leadership, and guild members.

Loneliness was assessed using the short-form UCLA Loneliness scale (ULS; Hays &

DiMatteo, 1987). ULS contains eight items selected from the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale

(Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980). The UCLA Loneliness scale measures the frequency of

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feeling lonely and lack of companionship. Depression was measured by the 10-item Center for

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Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D; Mirowsky & Ross, 1992). The 10 items are

statements about how participants might have felt or behaved during the past week. CES-D has

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been used in some of the most influential studies of the elderly, and in a normal, as opposed to a

pathological, population. Social support was tested using six items selected from the

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Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS; Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley,
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1988). MSPSS measures the perceived feelings of being supported by family, friends, and

significant other. Belongingness was assessed using the six items selected from the Social
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Connectedness Scale (Lee & Robbins, 1995). It measured the three aspects of belongingness:
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connectedness (three items), affiliation (two items), and companionship (one item). This scale
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was constructed with a split-sample procedure on college students so that minor alterations to

wording were made to fit the online game context. All items of the four scales were rated on a
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five-point Likert-scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). A pilot test with

82 older adults aged 55+ was carried out to test the internal consistency of the selected scales.
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The alpha reliabilities of the four scales ranged from .86 to .93.
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In order to better understand how older adults spend their time in the game, motivations for

playing MMORPGs were measured using the Online Gaming Motivations Scale (Yee,

Ducheneaut, & Nelson, 2012). It measured three types of motivation: Social, Immersion, and

Achievement. A single player can score high (or low) on more than one dimension at once
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 13

because these three motivational types are not meant to be mutually exclusive (Seay & Kraut,

2007). The reliability of this scale was above .70. Demographic information and weekly time

spent in gameplay were also measured.

Data analysis

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The analysis methods of this study were the same as the methods used in Zhou (2015,

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2016). Controlling for amount of gameplay and social motivation, a series of two-stage

hierarchical linear regression analyses was conducted. For each component of social interaction

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in MMORPGs, the amount of gameplay and social motivation were entered in the first block

(“Model 1”) as covariates; the factors in each component were simultaneously entered to the

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second block (“Model 2”). All regression analyses were performed with an alpha level of .01 due
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to the high frequency of multiple regression analysis used.

To compare the effect size of each component of social interaction on each outcome
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measure, Cohen’s f2 of each individual hierarchical regression analysis was calculated. Cohen’s
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f2 is a very informative and standardized measure of a variable’s effect size for hierarchical
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regression models; this allows a researcher to compare the effect sizes between variables within

the model as a whole (Selya, Rose, Dierker, Hedeker, & Mermelstein, 2012). Cohen’s
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conventions for small, medium, and large effect sizes are .02, .15, and .35, respectively (Cohen,

1988).
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Results
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The focus of this study was to test the hypotheses and examine how strongly each social

interaction component is related to older adults’ social-emotional wellbeing. In this section, we

present the results of the descriptive and two-stage hierarchical linear regression analyses and the

values of Cohen’s f2. Due to space limitations, we report the results for each model as a whole
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rather than for the specific variables in each model (see Tables 1-5). As a reminder, the amount

of gameplay and social motivation were entered into the first model as covariates (Model 1), and

then the factors of each social interaction component were entered into the model (Model 2).

Descriptive analyses

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There were more participants aged between 55 and 59 (62.70%) than those in other age

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groups such as 60-64 (20.90%), 65-69 (9%), 70-79 (1.20%) and 80+ (6.20%). Some 33% of

participants were female, and 67% were male. The majority of participants were married

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(61.2%), and lived with someone (74.60%). Roughly 53% of participants were full-time

employed and 10% were part-time employed. Some 77% of participants received a four-year

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degree and above. Approximately 40% of participants played WoW every day, and 39% played
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on 4 to 6 days per week. Some 12% of participants played more than 8 hours per day, 10%

played 6 to 8 hours, 28% played 4 to 5 hours, and 41% played 2 to 3 hours per day.
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In-game chatting was very popular among players; approximately 61% of participants
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communicated with other players through group chat frequently or all the time. Approximately
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88% of participants were either actively participating in guild activities or playing on a guilded

character at the time they responded to the survey. However, there was no significant
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relationship between gender and playing time, t (175) = 1.71, p = .90. A motivation scale for

online gaming was adopted to understand individual differences in why and how older adults
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spend time in MMORPGs. All of the mean scores of the three types of playing motivation were
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higher than a neutral 3 on the 5-item Likert-type scale. There was no significant difference for

social motivation with respect to age and gender. The mean scores for loneliness, depression,

social support, and belongingness were higher than the neutral 3 on each of the 5-item Likert-

type scales.
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Testing hypothesis 1

Table 1 presents the analysis results for intensity of interaction. The amount of gameplay

and social motivation were significant covariates for depression and social support. When the

six variables of intensity of interaction were added to the block, only the prediction model for

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depression was statistically significant. However, the R2 change for depression was not

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statistically significant, Fc (6, 200) = 1.60, pc = .15, R2c = .04. So, hypothesis 1 was not

supported.

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<INSERT TABLE 1>

Testing hypothesis 2

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Table 2 shows that when the four components of network level were added to Model 1, all
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of the second prediction models were statistically significant. The R2 changes for loneliness and

belongingness were statistically different from zero. The four variables of network level
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accounted for 6.20% of the variance of loneliness (Fc (4, 195) = 3.32, pc = .01, R2c = .06), and
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7.90% of the variance of belongingness (Fc (4,183) = 4.13, pc = .003, Rc2 = .08). However, for
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depression, the R2 change was not statistically significant, Fc (4, 202) = 1.84, pc = .12, R2c = .03.

Also, the R2 change was also not statistically significant for social support, Fc (4, 188) = 2.69, pc
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= .03, R2c = .05.

<INSERT TABLE 2>

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Testing hypothesis 3
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As shown in Table 3, the second prediction models for loneliness, social support and

belongingness were statistically significant when the seven components of enjoyment of

relationships were added to Model 1. Their R2 changes were also statistically different from zero.

For loneliness, the seven variables explained 10% of its variance, Fc (7, 176) = 2.85, pc = .01, R2c
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 16

= .10. However, none of the predictors explained a significant portion of the variance of

loneliness when other predictors acted as covariates. The seven variables accounted for 14.70 %

of the variance of social support, Fc (7, 172) = 4.68, pc < .001, R2c = .15. This was mostly

predicted by feeling close to real-life friends. For belongingness, 11% of the variance was

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accounted for by the seven variables, Fc (7, 167) = 3.16, pc = .004, Rc2 = .11. Similar to

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loneliness, none of the predictors in the model was statistically significant.

<INSERT TABLE 3>

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Testing hypothesis 4

Table 4 indicates that all of the second prediction models were statistically significant when

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the four components of quality of guild play were added to the first block. The R2 changes for
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loneliness, depression, social support, and belongingness were statistically different from zero.

The four variables explained 13.30% of the variance of loneliness, Fc (4, 170) = 6.67, pc < .001,
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R2c = .13. Quality of guild play accounted for fully 13% of the variance of depression, Fc (4, 177)
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= 6.94, pc < .001, R2c = .13. Satisfaction with guild mates mostly predicted loneliness and
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depression. Approximately 16% of the variance of social support was explained by the quality of

guild play, Fc (4, 164) = 8.26, pc < .001, R2c = .16, and it was mostly predicted by satisfaction
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with guild leadership. Fully 15% of the variance of belongingness was accounted for by the

quality of guild play, Fc (4, 159) = 7.40, pc < .001, R2c = .15, but none of the individual predictors
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in the model was statistically significant.

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<INSERT TABLE 4>

Cohen’s f2 of all outcome measures

Table 5 presents Cohen’s f2 for all outcome measures. The largest effect sizes for

loneliness, depression, social support, and belongingness were all associated with quality of
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 17

guild play. The largest effect sizes for loneliness (f2 = .16) and depression (f2 = .16) were

identical and of medium magnitude. The magnitudes of the largest effect size for social support

(f2 = .20) and belongingness (f2 = .19) were medium to large. Enjoyment of relationships

generated medium effect sizes on loneliness, social support, and belongingness. Both intensity

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of interaction and network level generated small effect sizes on all outcome measures.

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<INSERT TABLE 5>

Discussion

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The values of Cohen’s f2 indicated that the quality of guild play generated the biggest effect

sizes on loneliness, depression, social support, and belongingness. Loneliness and depression

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were mostly predicted by satisfaction with guild mates; social support was predicted by guild
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leadership; and belongingness was predicted by the quality of guild play as a whole. This

phenomenon could result from the membership of individual guilds. Similar values and player
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styles, repeated collaboration and well developed network of communication lead to a collective
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identity, trust and friendship among guild members (Shen, 2014; Zhou, 2015). Guilded players
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are more likely than unguilded players to participate in social activities such as chat, trade, and

collective quests (Shen, 2014). Low levels of loneliness and depression and high levels of social
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support are related to the benefits, support, and resources existing in the interpersonal contact

within social networks, while sense of belongingness refers to one’s feeling of being an integral
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part of a system or environment, with significant interpersonal relationships a necessary part.

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This study found that more than 70% of guilded players were satisfied with their guild

organization, leadership, and guild mates. Therefore, actively participating in a well-organized

guild seems to improve older adults’ social-emotional wellbeing.

Enjoyment of relationships generated medium effect sizes on loneliness, social support, and
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 18

belongingness. Social support was mostly predicted by feeling close to real-life friends, while

loneliness and belongingness were predicted by the seven variables of enjoyment of relationships

as a whole. Older adults' social capacities are associated with a range of factors, such as the

nature and number of their close relationships, the frequency, content, trust, and intimacy of their

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social interactions (Adam, Leibbrandt, & Moon, 2011; Gray, 2009), and the sizes and

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compositions of their social networks (Litwin & Shiovitz-Ezra, 2011). In this study, more than

half of the participants discussed gameplay with their family and real-life friends. In addition,

SC
more than 46% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that playing with family and real-life

friends makes them feel close to them. In terms of relationships with game friends, approximate

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37% of participants agreed, and 11% strongly agreed, that they trust their game friends.
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Surprisingly, about 24% of participants agreed that their game friends are as important as their

real-life friends. These findings demonstrate both the existing relationships maintained with
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family and real-life friends and the meaningful new relationships developed with game friends
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contribute to the positive psychological benefits of playing MMORPGs on older adults.

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This study found 77.50% of participants had played with game friends sometimes

(19.40%), frequently (28.80%), and all the time (29.3%). As discussed above, a large number of
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older adults had developed deep relationships with their game friends. However, the majority of

participants had either never or rarely (66.6%) met their game friends face-to-face. This could be
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due to the long distance. It also illustrates the difficulty of extending online relationships to
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offline ones. On the one hand, a substantial majority of the participants could be defined as

young older adults who were well-educated and in a civic partnership. Adults at this age are less

likely than older adults aged 75 and over to report feeling lonely (Thomas, 2015). The measure

of motivation for playing MMORPs suggests social interaction is not the only reason why older
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 19

adults play digital games. Therefore, a large number of the participants might not need to move

online to develop new social networks. On the other hand, socio-emotional selectivity theory

suggests that older adults prioritize emotionally rewarding interaction with familiar social

partners rather than meeting novel social partners (Carstensen, 1992). Although older adults' size

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of social networks decreases with advanced age, the nature of their social contact is more

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important than the existence of contact per se (Lindley, Harper, & Sellen, 2008). What's more,

previous research has shown that privacy and security are two of the barriers that prevent older

SC
adults from adopting information technologies (Smith, 2014). Taken together, older adults might

enjoy interacting with their game friends online but be hesitant to turn them into new real-life

U
friends. As indicated by De Schutter and Vanden Abeele (2010), the meanings of digital games
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with regard to the psycho-social context of older adults are divergent.

The intensity of the interaction component was related to none of the four social and
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emotional factors. Compared to enjoyment of relationships and quality of guild play, they
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generated much smaller effects sizes for loneliness, depression, social support, and
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belongingness. In addition, the results of regression analyses showed that the amount of

gameplay and social motivation were not significant covariates when the variables of each social
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interaction component were entered into the models (see Tables1-4). Older adults’ wellbeing is

more tightly related to the quality of guild play and enjoyment of relationships.
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This study sheds light on the relationship between older adults’ social interactions in
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MMORPGs and their social-emotional wellbeing, but we are aware of two limitations. First,

based on De Schutter’s (2011) criteria, the majority of participants could be defined as heavy

gamers who play video games more than 2.5 hours per day. This might result in overestimating

the proportion of heavy gamers in the older adult population. Second, we used a self-report
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 20

questionnaire to understand the social-emotional impacts of playing MMORPGs on older adults.

Although the hypotheses were based on previous theories and findings, the results do not imply

causal relationships. In order to fully understand the values of MMORPGs for older adults,

future experimental and qualitative studies are needed to: (1) evaluate the social and emotional

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impacts of MMORPGs on older adults; (2) investigate the guild involvement of older adults

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(e.g., the roles they have played, communication modes and relationship formation in guilds),

and how it meets their social and emotional needs; (3) explore the potential of MMORPGs as

SC
tools to facilitate intergeneration connection and learning, and understand the dynamics of

intergenerational play; and (4) identify cases where deep relationships have formed in order to

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understand specific social and emotional meanings of playing MMORPGs for older adults.
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Conclusion

This study conceptualized older adults’ social interactions in MMORPGs into four
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components and investigated the relationships between each component and older adults’ social-
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emotional wellbeing. Consistent with the findings of previous research, older adults’ socio-
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emotional wellbeing was associated with the quality of guild play and enjoyment of relationship

rather than the amount of gameplay, intensity of interaction, network level, and social motivation
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for playing MMORPGs. A large number of older adults have developed good online

relationships with their game friends. However, it may be difficult for them to extend their new
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online relationships into real life. Future studies are needed to evaluate and understand the
AC

positive effects and specific social and emotional meanings of MMORPGs for older adults. The

knowledge and understanding generated from current and future studies would provide new

viewpoints to improve older adults' well-being and address the problems of an aging society.
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MMORPGS AND WELLBEING 21

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by AGE-WELL NCE Inc., a national research network supporting
research, networking, commercialization, knowledge mobilization and capacity building
activities in technology and aging to improve the quality of life of Canadians and contribute to

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the economic impact of Canada. AGE-WELL is a member of the Networks of Centres of
Excellence (NCE), a Government of Canada program that funds partnerships between
universities, industry, government and not-for-profit organizations.

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Table 1.
Results for Intensity of Interaction

Outcome Model 11 Model 22 Change

measure F p R2 F p R2 Fc pc R 2c
Loneliness 3.35 .04 .03 1.18 .05 .22 .47 .83 .01

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Depression 6.05 .003 .06 2.74 .01 .10 1.60 .15 .04
Social support 9.14 <.001 .09 2.32 .02 .09 .13 .99 .004

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Belongingness 4.11 .02 .04 1.40 .20 .06 .51 .80 .02
1
Includes amount of gameplay and social motivation
2

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Model 1 with components of intensity of interaction added

Table 2.

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Results for Network Level
Model 11 Model 22 Change
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Outcome
measure F p R2 F p R2 Fc pc R 2c
Loneliness 3.35 .04 .03 3.38 .003 .09 3.32 .01 .06
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Depression 6.05 .003 .06 3.28 .004 .09 1.84 .12 .03
Social support 9.14 <.001 .09 4.95 <.001 .14 2.69 .03 .05
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Belongingness 4.11 .02 .04 4.21 .001 .12 4.13 .003 .08
1
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Includes amount of gameplay and social motivation

2
Model 1 with components of network level added
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Table 3.
Results for Enjoyment of Relationships
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Outcome Model 11 Model 22 Change

measure F p R2 F p R2 Fc pc R 2c
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Loneliness 1.78 .17 .02 2.64 .01 .12 2.85 .01 .10
Depression 3.18 .04 .03 2.18 .03 .10 1.86 .08 .07
Social support 8.15 <.001 .08 5.71 <.001 .23 4.68 <.001 .15
Belongingness 3.34 .04 .04 3.27 .001 .15 3.16 .004 .11
1
Includes amount of gameplay and social motivation
2
Model 1 with components of enjoyment of relationships added
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Table 4
Results for Quality of Guild Play
Outcome Model 11 Model 22 Change
2 2
measure F p R F p R Fc pc R 2c
Loneliness 2.01 .14 .02 5.20 <.001 .16 6.67 <.001 .13
Depression 3.65 .03 .04 6.00 <.001 .17 6.94 <.001 .13

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Social support 6.29 .002 .07 7.97 <.001 .23 8.26 <.001 .16
Belongingness 3.98 .02 .05 6.47 <.001 .20 7.40 <.001 .15

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1
Includes amount of gameplay and social motivation
2
Model 1 with components of quality of guild play added

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Table 5
Cohen’s f2 for Outcome Measures
Outcome Intensity of
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Network Enjoyment of Quality of
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measure Interaction level relationships guild play
Loneliness .02 .07 .11 .16
Depression .05 .04 .06 .16
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Social support .004 .06 .19 .20

Belongingness .02 .09 .13 .19
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Highlights

• Quality of guild play wast mostly related to older adults' socio-emotional wellbeing.

• Participating in well-organized guilds seems to improve socio-emotional wellbeing.

• Enjoyment of relationships also contributed to older adults' wellbeing.

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• Many older adults developed meaningful online relationships with game friends.

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• It would be difficult for older adults to integrate online friends into real life.

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