Introduction
Digital technologies have driven innovation and changes in information dissemination, consumption, entertainment, and social welfare. The ability to use this innovation is often based on age, with younger generations significantly more comfortable than are older generations. This“digital divide” poses a challenge to societies such as Taiwan’s, where the National Development Council estimated that 14% of the population was above the age of 65 years in 2018 and estimated that this number would reach 20% by 2025, making Taiwan a superaged society. In such superaged societies, scholars suggest, digital technologies can be used to promote social welfare and the mental and physical health of older individuals. Digital gaming, which has the potential to bridge the gap between users of different generations, is a helpful tool for promoting the well-being of young and old alike.
The perception of digital games among users of different generations may influence their motivation for playing games and their overall attitude to digital gaming. To collect diverse data from various age groups, this study employed the Word Association Test (WAT) to determine participants’ underlying cognition and emotions. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate differences in cognitive perceptions and approach-avoidance conflict of digital games among users of different generations. The stimulus word “digital games” was used in the WAT to investigate the cognitive perceptions of different age groups regarding digital games. The study began by considering the applications of digital gaming and then reflected on the differences in the perception of digital games between young-adult, middle-aged, and older groups. Subsequently, the intergroup similarities and differences in perceptions of digital gaming were evaluated.
Method
Convenience sampling was employed to recruit participants from different generations and living in Taipei, Taiwan. The young-adult participants included college students, graduate students, nearby residents, and high school students from a certain campus. The older-adult participants were recruited from neighborhoods, community centers, and locations near the aforementioned college. After invalid samples (those without age information) were excluded, 178 valid samples remained. To capture inter-age-group differences in cognitive perceptions of digital games, the participants were divided into three groups: the young-adults group, middle-aged and older-adults group, and advanced age group. The age classifications for the two older groups followed the age categories of the Ministry of Labor in Taiwan: 45 years and above and 65 years and above, respectively. The young-adults group comprised 73 participants [22% male, age of 15-27 years, mean (SD) = 20.18 (2.24)], the middle-aged and older-adults group comprised 50 participants [20% male, age of 46-64 years, mean (SD) = 59.40 (4.45)], and the advanced age group comprised 55 participants [35% male, age of 65-92 years, mean (SD) = 70.69 (4.94)].
The primary research method employed in this study was content analysis of associations with digital game vocabulary. The objective was to systematically categorize and describe data in accordance with predetermined coding categories to obtain structured and quantifiable information about content. Through the literature review conducted for this study, three coding themes were identified in cognitive perceptions of digital games: (1) neutral, (2) positive, and (3) negative game perceptions.
The study’s WAT was conducted in paper-and-pencil format, and the aim was not to measure how many words the participants could provide within a set time frame. Instead, the participants were encouraged to answer with as many words as possible. The WAT was concluded when the participants indicated they could not think of any more words or when they had provided 12 words. Finally, the participants’ responses were transcribed verbatim, and the number of words provided by each participant and the summarized themes were calculated.
Results
The distribution of vocabulary in the three participant groups for neutral, positive, and negative game perceptions revealed that the young-adults group and the middle-aged and older-adults group gave the highest number of responses that were coded as positive game perceptions, whereas the advanced age group gave the most responses coded as neutral game perceptions. This indicated that the younger individuals may have had more positive perceptions of digital games than the older individuals did.
In the coding theme of neutral game perceptions, the types of words most commonly provided by the young-adults group were those relating to game types; the three most commonly used words were competitive, simulation, and interaction. The types of words most commonly provided by the middle-aged and older-adults group were those relating to game titles, with the three most widely used words being “Mahjong,” “Candy Crush,” and “Su doku”. The types of words most commonly provided by the advanced age group were also those relating to game titles; the three most often recurring words were “Happy Farm,” “Candy Crush,” and playing cards. Interestingly, “Candy Crush” was a common word for both the middle-aged and older-adults group and the advanced age group, suggesting that this digital game is commonly played by middle-aged and older individuals in Taiwan but not by young adults. No other words were shared by the three groups in this coding theme.
In the coding theme of positive game perceptions, the types of words most commonly provided by the young-adults group were those relating to entertainment, with the three most commonly used words being stress relief, fun, and happiness. The middle-aged and older-adults group gave similar responses to the young-adults group; their two most frequently used terms were fun and stress relief. The types of words most commonly provided by advanced age group were coded as utility, with the most often used terms being brain exercise, passing time, preventing dementia, and learning. Three terms were common to the three groups: passing time, brain exercise, and fun, indicating that the different age groups had similar positive perceptions of playing digital games.
In the coding theme of negative game perceptions, the types of words most commonly provided by the young-adults group were those relating to psychological harm, with the most common term being addiction. The types of words most commonly provided by the middle-aged and older-adults group and the advanced age group were related to physical harm, with the often used term being eye discomfort. Notably, addiction was common to all three groups, suggesting that individuals from all generations perceive digital games as addictive. However, the middle-aged and older-adults group appeared to worry more that digital games were harmful to their eyes than that they were addictive.
Conclusion
This study examined and coded responses regarding perceptions of digital gaming of individuals in three distinct age groups and discovered specific differences between the groups’ responses.
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