Look at how we play: examining relationship self-presentation in the gaming context

• Main Author: Munifa Shaza Binte Mohammad Fadilah
• Other Authors: Saifuddin Ahmed
• Format: Thesis-Master by Research
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/172021
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Presenting one’s romantic relationship positively to others, known as relationship self-presentation, has become commonplace online. In recent years, and especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, increases in video game consumption has seen the rise of relationship self-presentation in the gaming context, where individuals engage in relationship self-presentation behaviors while playing with their partner in the gaming environment, or post about their gaming sessions and moments with their partner on social media. Given the dawn of the Metaverse, where our lives are increasingly expected to shift to the virtual space, the use of video games, with their notions of virtuality and “virtual bodies” (i.e., avatars), to showcase the romantic relationship to audiences warrants attention. However, this phenomenon and its implication on the relationship and the self have not yet been studied. To resolve existing gaps in the literature, this thesis took on a mixed-method approach consisting of two studies. In the first study, this thesis uncovered relationship self-presentation in gaming by exploring the behaviors and affordances individuals engage in and utilize in their relationship self-presentation. In the second study, the outcomes of relationship self-presentation, as well as the influence that affordances have on these outcomes, was explored. From these studies, an affordance-based framework was tested and refined with the aim of facilitating more systematic examinations of the aforementioned variables and further provide a foundation for future studies.