An Ethnographic Study on Cyber-Delinquency among Adolescents

게임방 청소년의 사이버일탈 과정에 관한 문화기술적 연구

Playing online games is popular among adolescents and may contribute to such social issues as game addiction and cyber-delinquency. The present study conducted an ethnographic analysis that addressed basic descriptive questions around the social significance of online games. The main findings were that peer pressure plays an important role; that is, adolescents play the games to fulfill their need to occupy higher levels of cyber-status among game players and build special relationships. They like to make money and buy what they want with money earned from game item deals. Game scenarios and mechanisms play an important role in game addiction. Adolescents sometimes exhibit social delinquency in cyberspace or the real world. Thus, adolescents' needs, game addiction and cyber-delinquency are intertwined.