The Role of Social Interaction Influencing on Flow and Immersion in the Context of Online Games: The Moderating Effect of Offline Dependence

온라인 게임에서 사회적 상호작용이 충만감과 중독에 미치는 영향: 오프라인 의존성의 조절효과

  • Kim, Yong-Young (School of Business Administration at Kyungpook National University)
  • 김용영 (경북대학교 경상대학 경영학부)
  • Received : 2010.09.03
  • Accepted : 2010.11.22
  • Published : 2010.12.31

Abstract

Online games are not only tools for enjoyment, they are also the linking pins connecting between the online and the offline worlds. The effects affecting other domains can be termed 'spillover'. With the process behaving as forward and reverse spillovers, there are interaction effects on online and offline behavior. However, there is little research dealing with the spillover effects from the offline to the online domain. This study concentrates on the individual behavior of online garners centering on offline dependence. With the purpose of finding the factors affecting both flow and immersion, I am interested in the moderator effect of offline dependence influencing both flow and immersion from social interaction. A research model is developed and a survey research is conducted from one of universities in Korea. The results show that flow is strongly influenced by skills, challenge, and social interaction, but immersion is only influenced by skills and social interaction and not challenge. The findings reveal that the moderating effect of offline dependence affects only the relationship from social interaction to the immersion on the lower offline dependence group.

온라인 게임은 그 자체를 즐기기 위한 대상이기도 하지만, 이를 통해 실생활의 시회적 관계를 강화하거나 연결하는 역할을 수행하기도 한다. 기존 연구들은 온라인 게임 경험이 실생활에 영향을 미치는, 즉 '온라인 게임 의존성'에 기초한 범람 효과에 대해서만 관성을 두어 왔다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 이전 문헌에서 간과한 '오프라인 의존성'이 온라인 행태에 영향을 미치는 범람 효과에 대해 살펴보았다. 이를 위해 경계이론 범람효과, 사회적 자본 사회적 상호작용, 충만감 중독 등의 이론에 근거하여, 충만감과 중독을 상호배타적인 구성개념으로 상정하여 종속변수로 두고, 숙련도, 도전감, 그리고 사회적 상호작용 등을 독립변수로, 그리고 오프라인 의존성을 사회적 상호작용의 조절변수로 하는 연구모델을 개발하였다. 연구모델을 실증하기 위해 온라인 게임 경험이 있는 사용자들 대상으로 온라인 설문 조사를 통해 얻은 197개의 유효한 데이터를 바탕으로 통계 분석을 하였다. 연구결과를 통해 충만감에는 숙련도, 도전감, 사회적 상호작용 모두 정의 영향을 주지만 중독에는 숙련도와 사회적 상호작용만이 정의 영향을 준다는 점을 밝혔다. 또한 오프라인 의존성에 대한 조절효과를 분석한 결과 오프라인 의존성아 낮은 집단이 높은 집단 보다 온라인 게임 중 사회적 상호작용을 활발히 하여 중독 성향이 높아지는 경향을 제시하고 있다.

Keywords

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