Seeking a sense of control or escapism? The role of video games in coping with unemployment

Unemployment can have devastating effects on people's psychological and social wellbeing. The effects of unemployment can be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the lack of control over one's life and the loss of social connectedness. Through a survey of 480 unemployed workers, this study examined how emotion-focused coping using video game can affect the workers' wellbeing and reemployment. The findings showed that escapism was associated with decreased wellbeing, which reduced job-search efficacy and behaviors. However, when video game playing was viewed as a source of self-determination, it can support the unemployed workers' intrinsic needs of autonomy and relatedness, which improved their wellbeing, their job-search efficacy, and job-search behaviors. Further comparison of effects between gender, age, race, and income found that unemployed workers who made lower to medium income were more likely to seek escapism through games compared to female unemployed workers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

What's So Funny About COVID-19? How Some Comic Strip Artists Have Approached or Avoided a Sensitive Subject

Newspaper comic strip artists in the "funny pages” have approached the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic in a number of ways. There was a delayed reaction to the pandemic because of the significant lead times preceding when the strip appeared in the paper. Some artists chose never to address the pandemic;other strips are "classic” in that they had appeared previously before the pandemic (e.g., Classic Peanuts, For Better or Worse) or were firmly grounded in a different time period (e.g., Prince Valiant) and would not be expected to broach the subject. A variety of aspects of the pandemic were fodder for the strips and panels such as: shortages and rationing, quarantine behavior, hand washing and mask wearing, escapism, family togetherness and its opposite, loneliness, social distancing, virtual meetings and telecommuting. Some of these subjects are exaggerated in an attempt to highlight their humorous, even ludicrous, aspects. Others are especially poignant and pay tribute to health care workers, delivery persons, grocery store employees, teachers, and other unsung heroes helping people get through the worst of the pandemic. Special attention is paid to the themes discussed in the following three comics: Dr. Rex Morgan, MD, Frank and Ernest, and Pearls Before Swine. Thirty-seven comic strips and panels appearing in the daily and Sunday editions of two different Kentucky newspapers to which the author subscribes;they form the basis for the study. These nationally syndicated strips were analyzed from the time of the first stay at home order in mid-March 2020 until the end of February 2021. This examination is exploratory in nature. Trends in the number of cartoons addressing aspects of COVID-19 are analyzed, but more importantly an attempt is made to interpret the themes of the comic strips or panels. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Using confidence interval-based estimation of relevance to determine women's emotions and perceptions of the Malaysian road environment during COVID-19

The road environment is one of the factors that contribute to road accidents. Extensive research has been conducted on the diversity of road users, conditions, and environments;however, it tends to be general in focus. In Malaysia, the road environment is an important element of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) agenda. As women play a greater role in a country's population growth, they are considered to hold greater responsibility for the nation's sustainability. This paper examines the road environment in Malaysia, centering on women's perceptions and using emotions as a predictor. The study data were collected via an online Google form that was specifically targeted at female drivers. A total of 93 respondents participated in the survey. The results include an R2 value equal to 0.27 with a 99% confidence interval. The results indicate that emotions played a moderate role in determining women's perceptions of the on-road environment. Meanwhile, respondents with negative emotions were able to separate their cognitive processes without affecting their perception. Current research indicates that the confidence interval-based estimation of relevance (CIBER) technique is efficient at predicting behavior and is useful for behavior modification in the future, which has significant implications for policy revision and recommendations. Limitations of this research include its focus on women and reliance on data collected during the pandemic, which may be different from other events or situations. Finally, this research suggests that it would be appropriate to establish future behavior interventions among road users at the national level. © 2023 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved.

Gift of fantasy: investigating how fantasy in digital game impacts game brand immersion

PurposeThis research aims to extend brand relationship theory to the domain of online gaming by augmenting the understanding of the role played by fantasy state in digital game in impacting gamers' immersive relationships with digital game brands. In this quest, the research examines how fantasy state in game (FSG) creates game brand immersion (GBI) through the mediation of emotional game brand attachment (EGBA) and the roles of individual's need for escapism (NE) and anxious attachment style (AAS) in moderating the aforementioned relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs a pre-test followed by two quantitative studies. Quantitative data were analyzed using the PROCESS macro.FindingsResults from Study 1 illustrate that perceived fantasy in game generates EGBA, which, in turn, predicts GBI. Further, Study 2 establishes that the effect of fantasy in game on EGBA is moderated by gamer's NE. The moderating effect of NE is moderated by individual's AAS.Originality/valueValue of the study lies in extending consumer–brand relationship theory to digital gaming domain which enhances the understanding of how fantasy state in digital game can lead to GBI and the roles played by individual personality characteristics like escapism motivation and AAS in the process.

Escapism and Excessive Online Behaviors: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study in Finland during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Excessive online behaviors refer to harmful or disproportionate use of digital network applications. Such behaviors are likely to be associated with escapist motives. Our aim was to analyze whether escapism predicts excessive gambling, excessive gaming, and excessive internet use over time. A longitudinal sample of Finnish residents aged 18-75 years (n = 1022, 51.27% male) was surveyed at three time points during the COVID-19 pandemic in 6-month intervals: April 2021 (Time 1), October-November 2021 (Time 2), and April-May 2022 (Time 3). Of the original Time 1 respondents, 66.80% took part in the surveys at both Time 2 and Time 3. All surveys included measures for excessive gambling (Problem Gambling Severity Index), excessive gaming (Internet Gaming Disorder Test), and excessive internet use (Compulsive Internet Use Scale). Three escapism-specific questions were used to construct a dedicated escapism variable. Socio-demographic variables, alcohol consumption, and psychological distress were used as controls. The study was conducted with multilevel regression analyses using hybrid models. Our research showed that escapism had strong within-person effects on excessive gambling, B = 0.18, p = 0.003; excessive gaming, B = 0.50, p < 0.001; and excessive internet use, B = 0.77, p < 0.001 over time. The between-person effect of escapism was demonstrated on excessive gaming B = 0.91, p < 0.001, and excessive internet use B = 0.61, p = 0.036. Adverse societal events and uncertain times can manifest in excessive online behaviors motivated by escapism, highlighting a need to focus prevention efforts on healthy coping methods.

Flight-to-nowhere service: Investigating factors influencing the repurchase intention

Revenge vacation, or an individual’s strong desire to go on vacation to make up for missed opportunities to travel and escape the stresses of daily life, can take the form of purchasing a flight-to-nowhere service. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, travel restrictions are gradually being relaxed, emphasising the need to investigate the long-term viability of this unique service. This research aims to investigate factors influencing the repurchase intention of the flight-to-nowhere service. Four variables of interest have been identified in this research, namely escapism, aesthetics, temporal illusion and repurchase intention. Purposive sampling yields 126 passengers of flight-to-nowhere service. To analyse the data, this research employs Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using SPSS and AMOS software. The results suggest that escapism and aesthetics are positive predictors of repurchase intention. Meanwhile, temporal illusion moderates the relationship between aesthetics and repurchase intention, such that high temporal illusion (vs low) weakens the relationship between the two variables. Practical suggestions and future research opportunities are detailed at the end of the paper. © The Author(s) 2022.

Hidden pandemic: Handling behavioral addiction during COVID-19 chaos in Low Middle-Income Countries

Symposium summary: Over the last few decades, the medical concept of addiction disorders has undergone tremendous development. Addictive disorders are currently considered a multifactorial chronic disease and have become a significant cause of global health problems and other psychiatric disorders. Not only drug addiction but also the number of behavioral addiction patients continues to increase. The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread across the entire world has curtailed most individuals' daily activities and movements. In response, the COVID-19 pandemic lets individuals engage more with technology use, providing escapism to several activities (e.g., shopping, eating, gambling, gaming, doing physical exercise, watching pornography). These activities allow them to find some acute emotional relief, albeit pathologically. These behaviors happened by accessibility, availability, and the absence of prevention and management programs for excess use. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown policies in several countries have created a new paradigm regarding the prevention of specific strategies for behavioral addiction, primarily due to the increase in internet use that leads to addiction. A standard is needed to manage behavioral addiction, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Besides, an instrument is needed to distinguish healthy gamers, problematic gamers, and gaming disorders in order to prevent overdiagnosis. Notably, the symposium will highlight the emerging issue of behavioral addiction such as gambling, gaming, and pornography in Low Middle-Income Countries during the pandemic, exploring global solutions to international problems in the field of addiction medicine. In this symposium, there will be one chair and four speakers.

The ultimate escape: escapism, sports fan passion and procrastination across two cultures

Purpose>This study aims to examine escapism as the explanatory mechanism that can account for distinct outcomes of harmonious and obsessive sports fan passion among US and Chinese fans.Design/methodology/approach>The study uses cross-cultural data collected among sports fans in the USA and China. Using structural equation modeling and PROCESS model, the authors test the mediating role of escapism and the moderating role of indulgence on the relationships between sports fan passion and procrastination.Findings>The authors found that positive escapism mediates the relationship between harmonious sports fan passion and procrastination, whereas negative escapism mediates the relationship between obsessive sports fan passion and procrastination. While individual-level indulgence was not a significant moderator, post hoc analyses revealed that the interaction of indulgence and uncertainty avoidance played a moderating role.Research limitations/implications>The use of sports fan samples from both the USA and China enables a cross-cultural comparison of the proposed model, thereby extending the model’s generalizability. By advancing the dual model of escapism, the authors hope to stimulate a research dialogue that identifies more nuanced (both positive and negative) predictors and outcomes of passion for an activity and escapism in the broader context of other passion-inducing activities (e.g., Internet use, work, etc.).Practical implications>Marketers promoting sports events can use this study's results to highlight the benefits of harmonious sports fan passion in terms of positive escapism and reduced procrastination. Organizations promoting sports fandom need to also be aware that sports fans can have obsessive passion for sports that can lead to procrastination. Therefore, it is important to be vigilant and distinguish between “healthy” and “unhealthy” passion early to avoid “unhealthy” passion turning into negative escapism and by extension, procrastination.Social implications>Socially responsible marketers should understand a potential negative effect that obsessive sports fan passion may entail and prevent or minimize its negative consequences.Originality/value>To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explains why sports fan passion can(not) be associated with procrastination. It does so by using the dual escapism as the explanatory mechanism linking harmonious and obsessive sports fan passion and procrastination.

Do Boredom, Escapism, Apathy, and Information Overload lead to Zoom Fatigue?

Unprecedented challenges in higher education due to COVID-19 emphasized the vital role of videoconferencing technologies to sustain education in emergencies. The colossal challenge of balancing learning and the psychological impact of the pandemic has caused exhaustion in the use of videoconferencing platforms in what researchers termed as Zoom Fatigue. In this study, we draw from the literature the behavioral constructs of boredom, escapism, apathy, and information overload and empirically test whether these factors can lead to Zoom Fatigue. Using a structural model and a validated scale, we analyzed 215 responses from university students using PLS-SEM. We confirm that boredom, escapism, and information overload lead to Zoom Fatigue. On the contrary, apathy among students is not a significant determinant We discuss the results and implications of our study and conclude by recommending possible avenues for future investigations.

Playing during a crisis: The impact of commercial video games on the reconfiguration of people's life during the covid-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic led to dramatic changes in people's lives. The Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community widely investigated technology use during crises. However, commercial video games received minor attention. In this article, we describe how video game play impacted the life transformations engendered by the pandemic. We administered a qualitative online survey to 330 video game players who were living in Italy during the lockdown measures. We found that the COVID-19 pandemic altered the participants' sense of time and space, reshaped both their intimate and wider social interactions, and elicited a wide spectrum of disturbing emotions. Players escaped from this unsatisfying reality into video game worlds, searching for a new normality that could compensate for the unpredictability and dangerousness of the pandemic life, as well as seeking uncertainty in the game environments to balance the flatness of the lockdown everydayness. In doing so, they "appropriated" the gaming technologies, which also led to several unexpected outcomes. Starting from these findings, we propose a model of escapism that points out four ways to escape from reality into video game worlds. Moreover, we outline some design implications that might inspire future strands of research in the field of crisis technologies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)