Pandemic rhythms: Adults’ gaming in Finland during the spring 2020 COVID-19 restrictions

2022/03/02 by Mikko Meriläinen · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Cinema and Media Studies #Digital Games and Media #Impact of Technology on Adolescents

paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/13548565221077582

openalex publication_date 2022/03/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how the spring 2020 COVID-19 restriction measures impacted adults’ gaming in Finland. The study draws on a thematic analysis of qualitative data ( N = 201) collected in April 2020, which is explored through the lens of Apperley’s (2010) theory of gaming rhythms. The results illuminate the ways in which gaming was situated in everyday life both during and before the COVID-19 restrictions, and how the pandemic and its associated restrictions disrupted, reinforced, and reconfigured the everyday rhythms of gaming. The situation impacted individuals and families differently, being beneficial to some and detrimental to others, contingent on other aspects of respondents’ lives. The results underline how an individual’s gaming does not happen in isolation, but takes place in the confines of everyday life, shaped by factors outside the individual’s control. Developing Apperley’s theory, the results show that gaming can be a very resilient activity, given the right circumstances.

Citations

• Using thematic analysis in psychology
• The benefits of playing video games.
• Coping: Pitfalls and Promise
• The partial truths of compensatory and poor-get-poorer internet use theories: More highly involved videogame players experience greater psychosocial benefits
• The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the care burden of women and families
• The online survey as a qualitative research tool
• Crooked Views and Relaxed Rules: How Teenage Boys Experience Parents’ Handling of Digital Gaming
• Playing Video Games During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Effects on Players’ Well-Being
• Playing with Feelings
• INTERSECTING OPPRESSIONS AND ONLINE COMMUNITIES

Discussions

• Adults' gaming during the pandemic doi.org/10.1177/1354... trepo.tuni.fi/bitstream/ha... [bsky, 0 points, 1 comments]

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