Happy New Year from the Geek and Gamer Counseling Alliance. With the New Year, we are excited to continue to work on existing projects such as our appearance at PAX East 2015 and some new projects such as doing advocacy, collaboration, and psychoeducation in the community.
Another project to which we currently turn our attention is our upcoming research project. At PAX East 2012, Steve began his research into gamer identity, coping skills, and resiliency. We hope to present about this information at PAX East 2015. Additionally though, we want to explore this group further and answer questions about what makes up a geek and gamer?
But this then begs the questions of why is this important to us as mental health professionals? Why is this important to us as members of this cultural group?
Membership in the geek and gamer culture is a choice, a decision. So how does someone within the culture seek membership? What if anything beyond their shared interests draw them to this group? What is the difference between someone who likes games and a gamer? How do members experience the stigma? Where do we feel comfortable exposing our true selves and how do we recognize that someone would be accepting of this in us? Can someone who is not a geek or gamer truly understand us and our passions? What role do geek and gamers feel their culture plays in their level of wellness?
These and many others are questions I would love to explore. We will work in coming weeks to narrow our research focus and create our design; however, if anyone has any suggestions for research topics or questions, please comment below or contact us through the contact page. We hope to explore these topics through both survey (quantitative) and interviews (qualitative) measures to be able to collect as much information as possible. The purpose of this research is to support our work as mental health professionals and to inform our work to educate the community on the positive aspects of gaming and the inherent strengths of geeks. Our goal is to advocate for our culture and we appreciate any feedback and support from you as readers.
-Megan
Another project to which we currently turn our attention is our upcoming research project. At PAX East 2012, Steve began his research into gamer identity, coping skills, and resiliency. We hope to present about this information at PAX East 2015. Additionally though, we want to explore this group further and answer questions about what makes up a geek and gamer?
But this then begs the questions of why is this important to us as mental health professionals? Why is this important to us as members of this cultural group?
Membership in the geek and gamer culture is a choice, a decision. So how does someone within the culture seek membership? What if anything beyond their shared interests draw them to this group? What is the difference between someone who likes games and a gamer? How do members experience the stigma? Where do we feel comfortable exposing our true selves and how do we recognize that someone would be accepting of this in us? Can someone who is not a geek or gamer truly understand us and our passions? What role do geek and gamers feel their culture plays in their level of wellness?
These and many others are questions I would love to explore. We will work in coming weeks to narrow our research focus and create our design; however, if anyone has any suggestions for research topics or questions, please comment below or contact us through the contact page. We hope to explore these topics through both survey (quantitative) and interviews (qualitative) measures to be able to collect as much information as possible. The purpose of this research is to support our work as mental health professionals and to inform our work to educate the community on the positive aspects of gaming and the inherent strengths of geeks. Our goal is to advocate for our culture and we appreciate any feedback and support from you as readers.
-Megan
RSS Feed
