Flow Experiences of Adolescents in Terms of Internet Cafe Environment and Computer Game Play Characteristics

Kara N., ÇAĞILTAY K.

2nd Cyprus International Conference on Educational Research (CY-ICER), CYPRUS, 14 - 16 February 2013, vol.89, pp.298-307 identifier

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • Volume: 89
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.850
  • Country: CYPRUS
  • Page Numbers: pp.298-307
  • Keywords: Flow experience, games, Internet cafes, social interaction
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the flow experiences of adolescents who play computer games at an Internet cafe environment. Observations and interviews were used in order to collect data from 21 adolescents aged 14 to 20 years. Results indicated that the Internet cafe social environment that include several activities such as talking to each other and helping other players while playing had a positive effect on the flow experiences of adolescents. While game genre, goal, and visual appearance increase the flow experiences and motivations of adolescents, the story feature of the games is not considered as an effective component of flow. The music of the games also does not have an effect on the flow experiences of most of the players. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.