Author Bianca Haun, BSc Submission Department of Work, Organizational and Media Psychology Thesis Supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Bernad Batinic Assistant Thesis Supervisor Mag.a Fabiola Gattringer September 2016 LET’S (WATCH ME) PLAY Which factors relate to Let’s Play addiction? Master’s Thesis to confer the academic degree of Master of Science in the Master’s Program Web Science – Social Web. JOHANNES KEPLER UNIVERSITY LINZ Altenberger Str. 69 4040 Linz, Austria www.jku.at DVR 0093696 SWORN DECLARATION I hereby declare under oath that the submitted Master’s Thesis has been written solely by me without any third-party assistance, information other than provided sources or aids have not been used and those used have been fully documented. Sources for literal, paraphrased and cited quotes have been accurately credited. The submitted document here present is identical to the electronically submitted text document. Linz, September 1, 2016 September 8, 2016 Bianca Haun 2/75 Abstract With the growing popularity of Let’s Plays, the question arises if this phenomenon carries a similar addictive potential like playing video games or watching TV, as Let’s Plays pose a link between those two pastime activities. Video games, as a traditionally active medium, are transformed into a passive medium through the addition of spectatorship and live streams, whereas the passivity of watching a video or someone else play gets the added possibility of interaction and communication. In order to measure Let’s Play addiction, a Let’s Play Addiction Scale was developed by modifying Lemmens’, Valkenburg’s, and Peter’s (2009) Video Game Addiction Scale. The scale was then used to measure not only Let’s Play addiction but also TV addiction and video game addiction. Through the use of one basic scale, the different addiction potentials can be easily compared. An online survey among 369 participants who watched Let’s Plays in the last three months was conducted. Findings include the participants’ categorization into risk groups, viewers’ motivations for watching Let’s Plays and a viewers’ personality traits breakdown. While more time spent watching Let’s Plays correlates with a higher Let’s Play addiction score, Let’s Play usage alone is not necessarily a predictable indicator for Let’s Play addiction. Let’s Plays were found to pose a higher addiction potential than TV but a lower addiction potential than video games. The results are interpreted and discussed, and future research direction is suggested. Keywords: Let’s Play, Twitch, YouTube, Addiction, Gaming, TV, Games, Addiction Patterns, User Generated Content, Behavioural Addictions, Video Game Streaming September 8, 2016 Bianca Haun 3/75 Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 7 2. Let’s Plays .............................................................................................................................. 8 2.1. History and Development of TV ...................................................................................... 8 2.2. History and Development of Video Games ..................................................................... 9 2.3. History and Development of Let’s Plays ....................................................................... 10 2.4. Defining Let’s Plays ...................................................................................................... 12 2.5. Previous Literature about Let’s Plays ........................................................................... 13 2.6. Different Let’s Play Experiences ................................................................................... 14 2.6.1. Specific Types of Let’s Plays ............................................................................. 15 2.6.1.1. eSports ................................................................................................ 15 2.6.1.2. Speedruns ........................................................................................... 16 2.6.2. Let’s Plays on Different Platforms ...................................................................... 16 2.6.2.1. Twitch .................................................................................................. 16 2.6.2.2. YouTube ............................................................................................. 17 2.7. Let’s Play Game Genres ............................................................................................... 17 3. Theoretical Approach ............................................................................................................ 18 3.1. Addiction ....................................................................................................................... 18 3.1.1. TV Addiction ...................................................................................................... 19 3.1.2. Internet Addiction ............................................................................................... 20 3.1.3. Video Game Addiction ....................................................................................... 21 3.2. Personality .................................................................................................................... 24 4. Research Model and Hypotheses ......................................................................................... 25 4.1. Research Question and Model ..................................................................................... 25 4.2. Hypotheses ................................................................................................................... 26 5. Method .................................................................................................................................. 28 5.1. Participants and Procedure ........................................................................................... 28 5.2. Sample and Demographic Information ......................................................................... 29 5.3. Questionnaire and Measurement Scales ...................................................................... 30 5.4. Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................ 36 6. Findings ................................................................................................................................ 36 6.1. Hypotheses Testing ...................................................................................................... 36 6.2. Further Findings ............................................................................................................ 42 6.2.1. Correlations ....................................................................................................... 42 6.2.2. Let’s Play Addiction Scale ................................................................................. 43 September 8, 2016 Bianca Haun 4/75 6.2.3. Categorization into Risk Groups ........................................................................ 44 6.2.4. Differences between Risk Groups ..................................................................... 45 6.2.5. Moderating Effects on LP addiction ................................................................... 47 6.2.6. Motivations ......................................................................................................... 49 6.2.7. Game Genres .................................................................................................... 53 6.2.8. Let’s Play Platforms ........................................................................................... 54 6.2.9. Let’s Play Watching Patterns ............................................................................. 55 6.2.10. Let’s Play Producers .......................................................................................... 58 7. Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................................... 60 7.1. Addiction ....................................................................................................................... 60 7.1.1. Measuring Addiction .......................................................................................... 60 7.1.2. Addiction Correlations ........................................................................................ 61 7.1.3. Let’s Play Usage Pattern ................................................................................... 62 7.1.4. Predictors for Let’s Play Addiction ..................................................................... 63 7.1.5. Watching Patterns ............................................................................................. 64 7.2. Motivations .................................................................................................................... 64 7.3. Game Genres ............................................................................................................... 65 7.4. Let’s Play Producer vs. Non-Producer Comparison ..................................................... 65 7.5. An Average Let’s Play Streamer Profile ........................................................................ 66 8. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ...............................................................