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The present study addresses the increased merging of adolescents’ online and social practices and provides a broad and developmental conceptualization, operationalization, and empirical investigati...

Research on addictive media use has often concentrated on only one specific form of problematic usage behaviour, making it impossible to systematically examine how different types of disordered use...

The extensive research literature on media literacy is reflected by diverse theoretical conceptions, assumptions, and conclusions. Nevertheless, the considerations of numerous scholars in this «patchwork of ideas» (Potter 2010, 676) revolve around the importance of critical thinking and the interplay of different generations in the acquisition of media literacy.Many scholars argue that critical thinking is a key qualification for the reflection of possible risks and a media use oriented towards opportunities. The ability to use media critically is directly linked to democratic-theoretical considerations, where information (Buckingham 2007), knowledge (Potter 2010), and analytical skills (Koltay 2011) are defined as components of media literacy. Information and knowledge are necessary for gaining access to media offerings, to analyze and evaluate them, and to create own media content (e.g., a profile on social networking sites like Instagram; Livingstone and Helsper 2010). Definitions of media literacy are usually based on the ability to access media and on media knowledge as expertise. These skills are considered fundamental for a reflective and (self-)critical use of media (self-competence), and to pass one’s own knowledge and abilities to others (social competence). However, previous research (e.g., Livingstone 2014) has also shown that deficits in media literacy lie less in knowledge, but rather in subsequent actions and thus in the transformation of knowledge into action. Knowledge does not automatically lead to a critical use of media or to a change in behavior (Martens 2010; Riesmeyer, Pfaff-Rüdiger and Kümpel 2012; 2016). It is, therefore, not enough to only focus on knowledge, but respective actions must be considered as well when investigating media literacy and its mediation.

Young people use online communication technologies to provide intimate information to each other and exchange sexual content and messages. When such information is misunderstood or misused by others, it may result in harmful experiences and negative psychosocial outcomes. In the present study, we hypothesized that online sexual engagement of adolescents and early emerging adults is indirectly connected to a lower psychosocial well-being via an increased number of sexual victimization experiences on the Internet. Based on a representative sample of 1033 German Internet users (14–20 years), we found that sexting willingness and 'sexy' self-presentation were associated with a higher number of online sexual victimization experiences, which, in turn, was related to higher loneliness, lower life satisfaction, and worse mental health. For all mediation paths, we identified stable indirect effects. The findings expand previous research on Internet usage, online behavior, and psychosocial well-being by explicitly focusing on the sexual engagement of young Internet users.

In public and scientific debate, the opportunities offered by digital media are often contrasted with a broad range of potential risks and harms. Negative influences are commonly anticipated for young people who have grown up with digital media in their everyday lives. This chapter systemizes different social risks faced by children, adolescents, and young adults using digital technologies. It addresses three online phenomena that arise out of or refer to social interactions with peers or adults and that are much discussed in public and current online research: cyberbullying, online addiction (with regard to social network sites and online games), and sexting. Regarding the diffusion of these phenomena, obtained rates have varied widely depending on the used definition, selected measurement instruments, and set cutoff criteria. Recently, more established instruments as well as first longitudinal studies and meta-analyses have appeared, allowing for more systematic research on social online risks. Looking at explanation patterns, individual factors such as personality features, co-occurrence with other (risky) behavior, and specific characteristics of an individual’s online use were predominant in previous research; lately, aspects of social resources and social influence have become more important, emphasizing peer factors as important predictors of involvement in risky online behavior.

Previous research on stress and media use mainly concentrated on between-person effects. We add to this research field by additionally assessing within-person associations, assuming that experiencing more stress than usual goes along with more nomophobia (“no-mobile-phone phobia”) and more passive and active Facebook use than usual, cross-sectionally and over time, and by exploring potential age differences. We conducted a secondary analysis of three waves of a representative multi-wave survey of adult Dutch internet users (N = 861). Specifically, we used two subsamples: (1) smartphones users for the analyses on nomophobia (n = 600) and (2) Facebook users for the analyses on social media (n = 469). Employing random-intercept cross-lagged panel models, we found within-person correlations between nomophobia and stress at one time-point, but not over time. For the younger age group (18–39 years), more passive Facebook use than usual was associated with more stress than usual six months later, and more stress than usual was followed by less passive Facebook use six month later. There were no longitudinal relationships for active Facebook use across the different age groups. Methodological and theoretical implications are discussed., Highlights • We study the relationships of nomophobia, Facebook use and stress over time. • Nomophobia and stress correlate on the within-person level at one time-point. • Passive Facebook use is associated with more stress over time for younger adults. • Stress relates to less passive Facebook use six months later for younger adults. • There are no longitudinal effects for nomophobia, active Facebook use, and stress.

Within today’s families, there is a growing relevance of children’s Internet use as an important and conflictual educational issue, especially during early and middle adolescence. The family climate can be seen as a sensor on how well families handle such Internet-related conflicts. We extended prior research by investigating the role Internet parenting plays for the perceived family climate of 952 nuclear families using a multiactor design. Moreover, we examined whether families’ educational background moderates the expected association between Internet parenting and family climate. The results confirmed that mothers and fathers with higher parenting confidence more often co-used the Internet with their child, which was found to positively influence the family climate. With regard to the education background, we found that the parental co-use of the Internet was a significant mediator, especially for middle- and lower educated fathers. Overall, the findings underline the relevance of parent–child shared Internet activities as a positive resource of family life.

The Role of Internet Parenting for the Internet use of Children in Pre-, Primary and Secondary School The present study analyzes the relationship between mothers' and fathers' Internet parenting and children's Internet use across different age groups (1-15 years). Especially, we looked at the influencing factors of parental mediation strategies and the interplay of mothers' and fathers' Internet parenting. Based on data of the DJI-survey "Growing up in Germany" (Aufwachsen in Deutschland: Alltagswelten, AID:A II 2015, N = 1,196), dyadic structural equation models have shown that across all age groups shared parent-child online activities were important influencing factors of regulating the children's Internet use. Also, the self-perceived Internet education competence of mothers and fathers has been confirmed as a relevant factor influencing a more intense use of parental mediation strategies for school-aged children. While the amount of Internet use among young children (1-6 years) was exclusively influenced by features and strategies of mothers' Internet parenting, the transition to elementary school not only marked changes in the frequency of children's Internet use, but also in the ICT parenting of mothers and fathers. For school-aged children, we indeed found an influence of fathers as well as, in case of the oldest age group, a reduced use of parental mediation strategies. However, parents' attitudes, competences and strategies regarding Internet parenting still stayed important during adolescence.

In the present study, we used Latent Transition Analysis as an innovative approach in cyberbullying research in order to detect multi-facetted involvement patterns. Since developmental aspects of cyberbullying are still poorly understood, we analyzed the stabilities and transition probabilities of these involvement patterns across time using longitudinal survey data. Based on a three-wave panel survey among 1723 pupils (1215 years old), we identified a five-latent status model to best fit the data. Apart from a large group of non-involved pupils, there were four moderately to heavily involved cyberbullying classes, all characterized by a co-occurrence of perpetration and victimization experiences. We found two moderate and content-specific classes of cyberbullying: gossiping patterns that were predominant among girls and insulting patterns that rather appeared among male and lower-educated adolescents. Moreover, we revealed a heavily victimized group (with mild perpetration) and a very small class of heavy perpetrator-victims. Transition probabilities showed that cyberbullying behavior was quite stable over time. All cyberbullying classes comprised perpetration and victimization experiences.A small class of adolescents was intensively involved in all forms of cyberbullying.Girls were more involved in gossiping, boys in insulting forms of cyberbullying.Pupils who were not involved in cyberbullying mostly stayed non-involved over time.Heavy involved pupils transitioned into less frequently involved classes over time.

Research examining online games often focuses on their potential to negatively impact players. One of the most common concerns is that playing online with others can displace offline relationships and, consequently, detrimentally affect one’s level of “offline” social support. However, there has been little empirical evidence supporting these causal claims. The current study addresses this by outlining a longitudinal analysis between gaming- and non-gaming-related friendships and social support among a representative sample of social online players (i.e., people who play online video games with others). The results indicate that social online video game play with online or offline friends is not related to perceived social support, positively or negatively, cross-sectionally or longitudinally. Taken together, these results dispute the long-held claims of the social displacement hypothesis and instead suggest that social online video game play does not have negative real-world consequences on playe...

Although research on cyberbullying has grown rapidly in the last years, holistic explanation approaches are still rare. In a first step, the present study discusses a theoretically derived, integrative model explaining a cyberbullies behavior referring to individual and structural influencing factors. This model was empirically tested among a sample of 1428 German high school pupils within a two-wave panel survey. Additionally, it was investigated whether the explanation patterns vary depending on the particular audience reached by the cyberbullying behavior. The results showed that technical resources enhanced the perpetration mediated via higher levels of perceived behavioral control. In contrast, social resources and norms also directly favored the perpetration of cyberbullying, however, only if this was witnessed by a certain audience. It is assumed that there is a group of cyberbullies who use the behavior as an instrumental strategy in order to reach socially motivated goals. The perpetration of cyberbullying can be considered a very stable behavior.The influence of technical resources is completely mediated via cognitive processes.Socially more and less preferred pupils are likely to become cyberbullies.Non-public forms are mainly explained by individual parts and traditional bullying.Cyberbullying in front of an audience is more strongly guided by social indicators.

From the oversexualized characters in fighting games, such as Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden, to the overuse of the damsel in distress trope in popular titles, such as the Super Mario series, the under- and misrepresentation of females in video games has been well documented in several content analyses. Cultivation theory suggests that long-term exposure to media content can affect perceptions of social realities in a way that they become more similar to the representations in the media and, in turn, impact one's beliefs and attitudes. Previous studies on video games and cultivation have often been cross-sectional or experimental, and the limited longitudinal work in this area has only considered time intervals of up to 1 month. Additionally, previous work in this area has focused on the effects of violent content and relied on self-selected or convenience samples composed mostly of adolescents or college students. Enlisting a 3 year longitudinal design, the present study assessed the relationship between video game use and sexist attitudes, using data from a representative sample of German players aged 14 and older (N=824). Controlling for age and education, it was found that sexist attitudes--measured with a brief scale assessing beliefs about gender roles in society--were not related to the amount of daily video game use or preference for specific genres for both female and male players. Implications for research on sexism in video games and cultivation effects of video games in general are discussed.

The psychosocial causes and consequences of online video game play were evaluated.Over a 1- and 2-year period, evidence for social compensation processes were found.Among young adults, online games appear to be socially compensating spaces.No significant displacement or compensation patterns were found for adolescents.No significant displacement or compensation patterns were found for older adults. Due to its worldwide popularity, researchers have grown concerned as to whether or not engagement within online video gaming environments poses a threat to public health. Previous research has uncovered inverse relationships between frequency of play and a range of psychosocial outcomes, however, a reliance on cross-sectional research designs and opportunity sampling of only the most involved players has limited the broader understanding of these relationships. Enlisting a large representative sample and a longitudinal design, the current study examined these relationships and the mechanisms that underlie them to determine if poorer psychosocial outcomes are a cause (i.e., pre-existing psychosocial difficulties motivate play) or a consequence (i.e., poorer outcomes are driven by use) of online video game engagement. The results dispute previous claims that online game play has negative effects on the psychosocial well-being of its users and instead indicate that individuals play online games to compensate for pre-existing social difficulties.

We examine the relationship between gaming gratifications and genre preferences.We develop and test a valid measure of gaming gratifications.Game mechanics and narration are the most important gaming gratifications.Players are more motivated by ego-centered gratifications than by social gratifications.The core genres roleplaying and action games are best predicted by gratifications. Computer games can be regarded as mainstream media and one of the driving forces in today's entertainment industry. With the recent changes in the field, we also witness an expansion in genres and user groups. A seemingly basic question gains new relevance in light of the growing diversification: Why do people turn to various types of computer games? In this study, we examine the relationship between gaming gratifications and genre preferences on the basis of a multivariate model deduced from previous research. We applied this model to survey data from a representative sample of 4500 gamers. We found that, apart from socio-demographics, individual and content-related gratifications are relevant predictors for genre preferences, especially for "core-gamer" genres such as roleplaying or action and shooter games. Beyond the "core-gamer", there is large group of (older) casual players who prefer puzzle and simulation games and seek fewer and different gratifications from computer gaming.

In this study, we focus on the relevance of social influence to explain cyberbullying experiences among German high school students. Social influence is discussed in the context of computer-mediated communication. To obtain individual and sociostructural data, we conducted a survey study among German high school students (N = 4,282). Using multilevel modeling, we found that the attributes of the school class only contributed to the risk of being involved in cyberbullying to a small extent. Still, procyberbullying norms in class did enhance the risk of perpetration and victimization for students, even more so than their individual beliefs. Previous experiences with bullying and intensive, unrestricted use of the Internet were the strongest individual predictors of cyberbullying involvement.

Aims To investigate the longitudinal patterns (stability and change) of problematic computer game use and its interdependencies with psychosocial wellbeing in different age groups.Design Three-wave, annual panel study using computer-assisted telephone surveys. Setting Germany. Participants A total of 112 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years, 363 younger adults between 19–39 years and 427 adults aged 40 years and older (overall n = 902). Measurements Problematic game use was measured with the Gaming Addiction Short Scale (GAS), which covers seven criteria including salience, withdrawal and conflict. Additionally, gaming behaviour and psychosocial wellbeing (social capital and support, life satisfaction and success) were measured in all three panel waves. Findings The generally low GAS scores were very stable in yearly intervals [average autocorrelation across waves and age groups: r = 0.74, confidence interval (CI) = 0.71, 0.77]. Only nine respondents (1%, CI = 0.5, 1.9) consistently exhibited symptoms of problematic game use across all waves, while no respondent could be classified consistently as being addicted according to the GAS criteria. Changes in problematic gaming were not related consistently to changes in psychosocial wellbeing, although some cross-lagged effects were statistically significant in younger and older adult groups. Conclusions Within a 2-year time-frame, problematic use of computer games appears to be a less stable behaviour than reported previously and not related systematically to negative changes in the gamers’ lives.

The influence of social reference groups such as family members, classmates and friends on adolescents' attitudes and behavior has been acknowledged in research for many decades. With the increasing use of online media, cyberbullying has become a major issue in adolescence research. In this paper, we compare various forms of peer influence on cyberbullying behavior among high school students in Germany. Specifically, the impact of close friends and more distant peers in the school class on perpetrator and victim roles is compared. The results indicate that the class context is highly relevant for cyberbullying. For both processes—perpetration and victimization—the number of cyberbullies within a school class plays an important role in predicting individual behavior. Looking at individual risk factors, the results show that cyberbullying is strongly related to the use of social networking sites, and the risk of victimization increases with the time spent online.

From their beginnings until today, digital games have been a substantial part of what has been labeled the “military–entertainment complex” deeply imbued with militaristic messages and imagery. Within cultivation research, this enhanced exposure to war and militarism is supposed to be associated with the adoption of military norms and thinking. Concepts on narrative persuasion specify this relationship between certain narratives and the adoption of story-inherent beliefs. Based on these theoretical concepts, the present study tries to investigate the relationship between aspects of gaming and militaristic attitudes. We carried out a representative survey of 4,500 gamers with an added control group of 500 nongamers. Militaristic attitudes were measured using a newly developed multidimensional militarism scale. Structural equation modeling did not reveal any relationship between gaming and militaristic attitudes. Moreover, neither the gaming type (multiplayer vs. single) nor the gaming frequency or a preference for shooter games was significantly related to militarism.

Digital media, especially mobile communication technologies, enable adolescents to explore and experiment with each other with only limited adult control. Conflicts between peers can be easily staged since nearly everybody can be reached at any time under the radar of authorities. Therefore, involvement in conflicts and bullying might depend on how adolescents use and behave online. In the present study, we provide a comprehensive picture of the role aspects of online communication play in long-term involvement in cyberbullying. We focused on a gender-specific perspective, as girls and boys were found to differ not only according to their online communication but also in their cyberbullying involvement. Using a two-wave panel survey of 1817 adolescents between 13 and 17 years (56 % female), we found that girls’ cyberbullying involvement (perpetration and victimization) could be traced back to more intensive online social activities and a higher amount of online contact with strangers. In contrast, for boys, only higher exposure to antisocial media content predicted higher levels of victimization over time. The findings indicate that certain patterns of online communication increase the cyberbullying risk over time. However, it needs to be noted that these risk factors vary between girls and boys.

Current research indicates that an alarming number of students are affected by cyberbullying. However, most of the empirical research has focused on psychological explanations of the phenomenon. In an explorative survey study based on the reconstruction of 2 complete school networks (N[subscript P] = 408), we expand the explanation strategies of cyberbullying to higher levels of social abstraction. Using statistical and structural analysis, and visual inspection of network environments, we compare explanations on individual and structural levels. In line with previous research, the findings support traditional explanations via sociodemographic and personality factors. However, the findings also reveal network positioning to be a comparably strong predictor for cyberbullying. Therefore, we argue that without taking structural factors into account, individual explanations will remain insufficient. Language: en

AIMS: Playing digital games has been associated with forms of addictive behavior. Past research on the subject has often been criticized on theoretical and empirical grounds, mainly due to measurement or sampling issues. The present study aims to overcome these two limitations, and presents data from a representative study in Germany using an already established instrument for measuring problematic game use. DESIGN: Large-scale, representative study using a computer-assisted telephone survey. SETTING: Germany. PARTICIPANTS: N = 580 adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age, N = 1866 younger adults between 19-39 years, and N = 1936 older adults aged 40 and older (overall N = 4382). MEASUREMENTS: Problematic game use was measured with the Gaming Addiction Short Scale (GAS), which covers seven criteria including salience, withdrawal and conflicts. Additionally, differential aspects of personality, as well as gaming behavior were measured. FINDINGS: Only seven respondents (0.2%, 95%-CI [0.1, 0.3]) met all criteria of the GAS Scale. In contrast, 3.7% (95%-CI [3.2, 4.3]) of the respondents can be considered problematic users, meeting at least half of these conditions. The percentage of problematic gamers among adolescents is above average (7.6%, 95%-CI [5.6, 10.1]). High GAS scores are associated with aggression, low sociability and self-efficacy, and lower satisfaction with life. Additionally, these scores correspond with intensive use and preferences for certain gaming genres across all age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Following Gaming Addiction Short Scale criteria, gaming addiction is currently not a widespread phenomenon among adolescents and adults in Germany. Gaming Addiction Short Scale scores are associated with intensive use, as well as certain problematic aspects of individuals' personalities and social lives. Language: en

Um das im ersten Teil der Arbeit aufgestellte Forschungsmodell empirisch prufen zu konnen, sollen im Folgenden die methodischen Grundlagen der durchgefuhrten Untersuchung erlautert werden. Im ersten Teil werden dazu die Grundlagen der Studie sowie die Bedingungen der Datenerhebung beschrieben (Kapitel 5.1). Anschliesend werden die zentralen Kennwerte der zugrunde liegende Stichprobe auf Individual- und Strukturebene vorgestellt (Kapitel 5.2). Schlieslich wird die Operationalisierung der zentralen Konstrukte – auf Seiten der abhangigen Variable die Ausubung von Cybermobbing sowie dessen zentrale Erklarungsfaktoren – vorgenommen (Kapitel 5.3) und die zugrunde liegenden Auswertungsstrategien erlautert (Kapitel 5.4).

Die ermittelten Anforderungen hinsichtlich einer Erklarung des Taterverhaltens beim Cybermobbing in Kapitel 2 wurden im Rahmen von Kapitel 3 in ein integratives Modell uberfuhrt, das sowohl handlungstheoretische Ansatze (TPB) als auch eine hoher angeordnete Strukturperspektive (nach Giddens, 1997) miteinschliest. Im Folgenden soll nun der Schritt von diesen theoretischen Uberlegungen hin zu einer empirischen Analyse vollzogen werden, indem zunachst die relevanten Forschungsfragen und Hypothesen aus den theoretischen Voruberlegungen abgeleitet werden. Analog zu Kapitel 3 wird dabei zunachst der Kern des integrativen Modells aus dem Gesamtkonzept herausgegriffen, indem in einem ersten Schritt das Basismodell der TPB analysiert wird.

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist eine umfassende Untersuchung der individuellen und strukturellen Faktoren, welche die Ausubung von Cybermobbing unter Jugendlichen, speziell im Schulkontext, beeinflussen. Bislang erfolgte eine Analyse der vor allem individuellen Einflussfaktoren eher punktuell, weshalb bisherige Befunde oftmals wie eine unsystematische Sammlung verschiedener Einzelergebnisse wirken. Dieser Forschungslucke folgend wird mit Hilfe der vorliegenden Arbeit zunachst ein Anforderungskatalog an ein Modell zur Erklarung der Ausubung von Cybermobbing entwickelt.

Innerhalb der letzten Jahre hat die offentliche Wahrnehmung von Cybermobbing spurbar zugenommen. Ausgelost durch die Berichterstattung uber einige tragische Falle einzelner Schuler (vgl. z. B. Patalong, 2007) hat sich nicht nur eine deutliche Sensibilitat fur die Thematik entwickelt, sondern es wurden auch zahlreiche Initiativen und Bundnisse zur Bekampfung von Cybermobbing gegrundet (z. B. europaische Kooperationen wie das Projekt COST Action IS0801 im Jahr 2008). Parallel zu dieser zunehmenden offentlichen Aufmerksamkeit hat sich auch eine wissenschaftliche Debatte hinsichtlich des Phanomens Cybermobbing nach und nach etabliert.

Im vorherigen Kapitel wurden zentrale Anforderungen formuliert, die an ein Modell zur Erklarung der Ausubung von Cybermobbing durch Jugendliche gestellt werden mussen. Zusammenfassend rucken dabei neben Merkmalen der handelnden Person selbst vor allem die Besonderheiten des Online-Kommunikationskontexts sowie der das Individuum umgebende soziale Peerkontext in den Mittelpunkt. Das Handeln des Einzelnen scheint demnach nicht nur durch individuelle, sondern auch durch strukturelle Einflussfaktoren bestimmt zu werden. Handeln selbst wird zwar haufig als individuelle Aktivitat verstanden, die jedoch im Kontext von Cybermobbing stets in Bezug auf andere Personen und somit als soziales Handeln stattfindet. Zur Konstruktion eines geeigneten handlungstheoretischen Rahmens soll daher zunachst der soziologische Handlungsbegriff als Grundlage zur Erklarung von Cybermobbing erlautert werden.

Im folgenden Kapitel werden die Ergebnisse der empirischen Studie erlautert. Dazu werden zunachst in Kapitel 6.1 die deskriptiven Befunde hinsichtlich einer Ausubung von Cybermobbing prasentiert. Anschliesend werden in den Kapiteln 6.2 bis 6.4 die Resultate in Hinblick auf die relevanten Forschungsfragen und Hypothesen vorgestellt, ehe dann in Kapitel 6.5 die wichtigsten Befunde zusammenfassend dargestellt werden.

Cross-sectional studies on video game violence and aggression have yielded contradictory results. Parts of this inconclusiveness can be attributed to the limitation to particular age groups. The present study investigated the relationship between preference for action and first-person shooter (FPS) games and aggression for the groups of adolescents (14–18), younger (19–39), and older adults (40+) in a sample of German gamers (N = 4,500). The strength of the association differed between age groups. Even after controlling for gender, education, social support, self-efficacy, and overall video game use, we found a significant relationship between preference for action and FPS games and physical aggression that was strongest for the adolescents. We found no such association for anger and verbal aggression. The results indicate that potential selection or socialization effects are likely to differ with age and that research on video games and aggression can benefit from the inclusion of more heterogeneous samples.

To investigate the longitudinal patterns (stability and change) of problematic computer game use and its interdependencies with psychosocial wellbeing in different age groups.Three-wave, annual panel study using computer-assisted telephone surveys.Germany.A total of 112 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years, 363 younger adults between 19-39 years and 427 adults aged 40 years and older (overall n = 902).Problematic game use was measured with the Gaming Addiction Short Scale (GAS), which covers seven criteria including salience, withdrawal and conflict. Additionally, gaming behaviour and psychosocial wellbeing (social capital and support, life satisfaction and success) were measured in all three panel waves.The generally low GAS scores were very stable in yearly intervals [average autocorrelation across waves and age groups: r = 0.74, confidence interval (CI) = 0.71, 0.77]. Only nine respondents (1%, CI = 0.5, 1.9) consistently exhibited symptoms of problematic game use across all waves, while no respondent could be classified consistently as being addicted according to the GAS criteria. Changes in problematic gaming were not related consistently to changes in psychosocial wellbeing, although some cross-lagged effects were statistically significant in younger and older adult groups.Within a 2-year time-frame, problematic use of computer games appears to be a less stable behaviour than reported previously and not related systematically to negative changes in the gamers' lives.

Playing digital games has been associated with forms of addictive behavior. Past research on the subject has often been criticized on theoretical and empirical grounds, due mainly to measurement or sampling issues. The present study aims to overcome these two limitations, and presents data from a representative study in Germany using an already established instrument for measuring problematic game use.Large-scale, representative study using a computer-assisted telephone survey.Germany.A total of 580 adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age, 1866 younger adults between 19-39 years and 1936 older adults aged 40 years and older (overall n = 4382).Problematic game use was measured with the Gaming Addiction Short Scale (GAS), which covers seven criteria including salience, withdrawal and conflicts. Additionally, differential aspects of personality, as well as gaming behaviour, were measured.Only seven respondents [0.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1, 0.3] met all criteria of the GAS Scale. In contrast, 3.7% (95% CI: 3.1, 4.3) of the respondents can be considered problematic users, meeting at least half these conditions. The percentage of problematic gamers among adolescents is above average (7.6%, 95% CI: 5.6, 10.1). High GAS scores are associated with aggression, low sociability and self-efficacy and lower satisfaction with life. Additionally, these scores correspond with intensive use and preferences for certain gaming genres across all age groups.Following Gaming Addiction Short Scale criteria, gaming addiction is currently not a widespread phenomenon among adolescents and adults in Germany. Gaming Addiction Short Scale scores are associated with intensive use, as well as certain problematic aspects of individuals' personalities and social lives.