Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Mar 2016)
Conference Report: Cultures of Video Game Concerns in a Comparative View: Report of a Two-Day Workshop
Abstract
The same video games are played by young people all over the world. All over the world these games become matters of concern. Young people's involvement with video games is of concern to families, industry, science, and regulatory bodies. However, different dynamics play out in each country within and across these practices. Each practice and country finds different cultural, social, material and institutional ways of dealing with video games. The international workshop "Cultures of Video Game Concerns in International Comparison" sought to situate the concerns about video games and investigated the methods through which they play out in different contexts. The focus was on Denmark and Germany, but other international scholars also participated to add international perspectives. In addition to national comparisons the workshop compared video game concerns in the game industry, among youth and parents, in science, and in legal and regulatory contexts. The methodological focus on concerns proved highly productive for disrupting the usual stale discussions about the veracity of research on the effects of video games, and for understanding video game concerns as integral parts of the methods applied by scientists and non-scientists alike in their everyday attempt to meet the situated challenges that arise when dealing with video games. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1602179
