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Online Gaming and Accountabilities in the Pandemic Environment: A Multi-faceted Perspective

Tehmina Khan (RMIT University, Australia)

The New Digital Era: Digitalisation, Emerging Risks and Opportunities

ISBN: 978-1-80382-980-7, eISBN: 978-1-80382-979-1

Publication date: 15 September 2022

Abstract

Purpose: Online gaming (OG) has become an increasing societal phenomenon during the current Pandemic times. This is due to lockdowns and people being confined to home environments. This chapter sheds light on the attraction of OG, from the perspective of it being a virtual immersion tool of emancipation. There has been an increasing amount of working from home arrangements during Pandemic times and more time is being spent in virtual immersion. As discussed in the article, there is a potential conflict between individual accountabilities, for example, to attain a certain degree of work-related performance and the hedonistic pleasure attained from OG (which is the type of focus of virtual immersion in this chapter). OG bears personal, business and societal costs, which are discussed in this chapter.

Need for this study: This study provides a picture of the implications of an individual’s virtual reality immersion for the purpose of OG, from the perspectives of personal and social accountabilities in the virtual and physical worlds in the current Pandemic environment.

Methodology: This is a concise overview of the theoretical underpinnings, impacts on accountabilities and implications relating to OG. The chapter provides a survey and discussion of the literature on increasing trends of OG, profit-making potential of OG and the related accountability perspectives.

Findings: This chapter has extended on the Internet accounting and accountability research literature by considering OG accountabilities and costs and benefits. OG supports an individual’s emancipation. From the perspective of OG, there are numerous forms of emancipations that can be achieved and that may result in ‘sacrifices’ by others including other online gamers. There is a substantial risk of a lack of accountability towards the others in the online and real-life environment on behalf of the one who is emancipated through escape.

Keywords

Citation

Khan, T. (2022), "Online Gaming and Accountabilities in the Pandemic Environment: A Multi-faceted Perspective", Grima, S., Özen, E. and Boz, H. (Ed.) The New Digital Era: Digitalisation, Emerging Risks and Opportunities (Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, Vol. 109A), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 251-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1569-37592022000109A015

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022 Tehmina Khan