Addictive behavior in relation to the Happy Farm Facebook application

Abstract

In this study I investigated the influence of materialism on online game addiction. A questionnaire survey was completed by university students in Taiwan who were users of the popular Facebook application Happy Farm. Results showed that (a) the materialism of individual users who had been playing Happy Farm for less than 6 months had a positive impact on their Internet addiction, but those who had been playing Happy Farm for more than 6 months were not influenced by individual materialism; and (b) interpersonal relationships moderated the effect of users' materialism on online game addiction. I also found that materialism had a greater positive influence on novice players of Happy Farm than on experienced players, and that interpersonal relationships moderated this influence.Facebook, the top social network globally (Nielsen Wire, 2012), is a classic form of social media that easily induces addiction -a phenomenon that affects the lifestyles of individuals. Li and Bernoff (2008) used the term groundswell to describe how social media uses technology to promote relationships between people. They emphasized that this trend is based on people who not only possess an infinite desire to establish relationships, but also act on this desire. This phenomenon has created a permanent and long-lasting change in the way the world operates, and it has also been revealed that, although social media initially only attracted the attention of young people, today it has become a major part of the lives of people of all ages (Weinberg, 2009). Moreover, online games are some of the most popular applications on Facebook. After a user registers and SOCIAL

A Comparative Study of Social Media Addiction Among Turkish and Korean University Students

“…Investigations have been made looking at many aspects of digital addiction research, from internet addiction to problematic internet use, which is now gathered around social media addiction (Andreassen, 2015;Davis, 2001;Griffiths, 2005;Hazar, 2011;Kuss & Griffiths, 2011;Lee, Lee & Kwon, 2011;Tarhan & Nurmedov, 2019;Tutgun-Ünal, 2020a;Wilson, Fonasier & White, 2010;Wu, 2013).…”

Motivations and Gratification in an Online Game: Relationships Among Players' Self-Esteem, Self-Concept, and Interpersonal Relationships

“…In a study of the influence of materialism on addiction to the Happy Farm game, Wu (2013) found that materialism had less impact on the degree of addiction for users with good interpersonal relationships, compared to those with poor interpersonal relationships. This researcher cautioned that gamers who misrepresent themselves online may develop a negative self-concept by way of self-comparisons, judgments, and cyber-bullying.…”

“…They may simply enjoy immersing themselves in the game's characters, or they may be driven by the desire for social interaction, a sense of belonging, or by the satisfaction derived from forming and maintaining relationships. The focus in previous SNS and game research has been on participants' addictions (Wu, 2013), flow experiences (Seger & Potts, 2012), and mental traits (Seger & Potts, 2012;Yang & Huang, 2011). However, gamers' motivations have not been explored and, thus, the reasons that individuals use online community games, such as Happy Farm, is a topic that we were interested in investigating.…”

Examining the Role of Personality Factors in Problematic Video Game Play Associated with Facebook Games

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