The role of playing computer games in construction of youth's identity

Given the entertaining character of modern media, which makes them qualitatively different from older narrative media, the question arises whether the identity of the youth who are familiar with the modern media is different from that of the youth who did not experience them. The statistical population comprised of boys from 18 to 28 years old from Tehran. Of these people, two groups of heavy gamers and those with little or no computer game experience were selected based on their experience with computer games, the time spent playing and their familiarity with and application of computer games. Convenience snowball sampling was used. Heavy gamers comprised of 43 people who completed the questionnaires and 18 people who attended an interview. The control group comprised of 36 people who completed the questionnaires and 14 people who attended an interview. This study used qualitative method (interview) and quantitative method (Identity Status Scale (EOM-EIS-2) and Identity Formation Scale) to collect the data. Interview analysis and t-test were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that although both groups have similar affection and behavioral commitment to their identities, the heavy gamers’ commitment is conditional and temporal. In general, results stress the impact of computer games on construction of youth’s identity.