Motivations and gratification in an online game: Relationships among players' self-esteem, self-concept, and interpersonal relationships

We applied uses and gratifications (U & G) theory to investigate how and why people satisfy their needs through playing games online. In this study, conducted with a group of young people aged from 11 to 18 years, we examined the relationships among the psychological traits of self-esteem and self-concept, their interpersonal relationships, and playing a Facebook game called Happy Farm. The results support the assumption in U & G theory that if a specific medium fulfills the expected gratifications initially sought, then individuals will have greater motivation to continue to use the medium. Male players had a significantly greater need for friendship than did females. We also found a positive association among use intensity, self-esteem, self-concept, and interpersonal relationships. Finally, the results showed that recreational motivation, recreational gratification, peer relationships, and caring are all strong predictors of adolescents’ usage intensity.