Let me tell you about how my passion for understanding the effects of interactive media started and how it evolved into my research on Game Transfer Phenomena.
More than fifteen years ago, when I was an undergraduate psychology student, Internet was not accessible as nowadays. When Internet was introduced at my university’s computer lab many including myself stuck to the screens like leeches. Around that time I was looking for an original research topic for my thesis.
2000: My first piece of research
One day when I was in the computer lab we lost the internet connection and everybody started to complain and getting upset, including myself! This anecdote got my mind spinning and I start thinking about the psychological impact of the use of Internet.
Eventually, I decided to research about the pathological use of Internet. Internet was a new phenomenon and for months I struggled to convince my teachers about my selected topic, not to mention the struggle to find a supervisor.
While I was writing up my thesis, I unexpectedly got invitations to participate in debate programmes on TV and to write in a newspaper. This was an amazing and positive experience for the undergraduate student I was, and it led me to my passion for understanding the effects of the interactive technology.
2010, February: Applying the Google logic!?
A few months before starting to work on my master thesis when I was copiously searching articles on Google, I had an experience while travelling on the subway where I started to think with the “illogic logic” of the Google search engine.
Then I was curious if someone else had experienced something similar in the context of video games, so I posted a question about it in a Facebook group.
2010, April: My research idea started boiling!
In April 2010, I was doing my master studies at Stockholm University, and once again, I was looking for an original topic for a thesis.
All the pieces started to come together after a few intense playing sessions of my favourite game ever, Resident Evil 4. At the supermarket, I wanted to look at something, which was far away. For a second, I wished I had the rifle from the game, so I could zoom in.
After this experience, I decided to find out how common this was among gamers. My master thesis was to become the first study of GTP.
First GTP study- Research process
2. Carrying out the interviews
3. The main categories of the first GTP study
