ABSTRACT
In the information age (Castells, 1996) of today, we see a restructuring of social structures and identities (Giddens, 1990). The family is one such changing social context, and even though changing family structures are one of the hallmarks of contemporary life, we still rely on the family for emotionally satisfactory lives. Family is still the most important social context we have for support and psychosocial well-being (Cherlin, 1999). In the public debate on digital games, the focus is often placed on the problems that they pose for family life (Bergmark and Bergmark, 2009). In Sweden, parents worry about digital games (Brun, 2005) and tend to heavily control this activity for adolescents in the home (Eklund and Bergmark, 2013), but at the same time the understanding of the activity is low (ibid.; Linderoth and Bennerstedt, 2007). This chapter aims to examine the patterns of social play and experiences when gaming with family members. The focus is on people who play games, therefore offering a new perspective on family life and digital games. The main research question concerns what the role of digital gaming in family interaction and relationships is for people engaged in gaming.
