Video Games and Coping: A Call to Action

Exciting news, everyone!

You’ve all been following my posts on violence in video games, and some of you have commented that not all gamers are or become violent, and some people use games as a way to deal with hard times in their lives.

Have I got news for you, then!

Dylan from Playing With Thoughts and I are collaborating on a special event about how people use video games in their lives, but we need your help!

We’re posing questions (found below) and we’re asking that you send either of us an email (info also found below) with your answers. We plan on compiling the information, and looking for patterns and such found in the responses.

samuel-johnson

But don’t worry! Although Dylan and I will know the email address of the person who sent the answers, we will not be using any identifying information in our posts. Your answers will be completely anonymous.

This is a small community, so we’ll be taking care to ensure that there is no way that your stories are traceable to you. I know it might not mean much here, but I do conduct research IRL so I take confidentiality very seriously. And Dylan is an upstanding guy, so I know he takes it seriously, as well.

2 shepards

How the Information Will Be Used

The first question will ask you about an event in your personal life. You are free to share as much or as little as you feel comfortable. This information will be used to find patterns as to when games are used for coping, and these stories will not be posted in full on either my or Dylan’s sites. If a statement from your story is used, no identifying information will be used, and information that could potentially “give away” whose response it is may be slightly modified.

The second two questions ask for specific details about the video game you played. Please answer as fully as you are able. Again, this information will be analyzed for patterns, and all identifying information will either be removed or modified if part of your answer(s) are used within one of our articles.

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The fourth question is open-ended, in case there is anything else important you think we should know about how video games can be used for coping.

If you decide to participate, we ask you to send your responses to either me (under the Keep in Touch tab; aka athenatseta7@gmail.com) or to Dylan at dylandibonapwt@gmail.com.

We also ask that all responses are sent to us by July 13th.

The Questions

Please answer the following questions as fully as possible and to the best of your ability.

  1. Has a video game ever helped you cope with something difficult happening in your life? What was happening?
  2. Was there one video game in particular that you were drawn to? What was it?
  3. Was there a particular part of the game that you really connected with at that time? What was it (the characters, the story, the ability to feel strong, the way a character acted, etc.)?
  4. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me about your video game playing habits during this time?

The Last Paragraph

Thank you guys for participating! Dylan and I are very excited to be working together on this project, and would love it if you guys could help us make these the best articles they could be! The more responses we have, the better quality information we’ll be able to provide.

If you have any questions, you can either leave a comment, message me on Facebook or Twitter, or shoot me an email.

Thank you again! 

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon,
~ Athena


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17 comments

  1. Does everything have to be anonymous? Because I’d love to help with this, but I kinda already answered Questions 1 through 3 (fairly publicly) in my Wind Waker piece. Does that rule me out, or can you still use it?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You can absolutely still participate! We just wanted everyone to feel comfortable, and not like we would wave their secrets around in public for the sake of collecting data.

      I can check out your article, or if you want to still email me, that would work, too. Thank you so much for wanting to participate!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’ll write it up in a slightly more accessible way and email it you when I get chance, as I imagine that’s easier than you having to sift through my clumsily stabbed out mumblings as is.

        And you’re welcome, I’m happy to help.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Very interesting idea! I think I’ve answered these already by rambling to you constantly… Feel free to use anything/everything I’ve ever told you about FFXIII/Lightning, if you want. I can actually fill out the questions too, if you need me to. Just let me know 🙂

    Good luck with the project!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I now that a podcasting group (No Ordinary Nerd) addresses issues like this and talk about it. They have even been invited to a convention or two to talk about stuff like this. They are cool people and stuff like this is actually how I befriended one of them (before they did the podcast). I suggest definitely checking them out.

    Liked by 1 person

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