Social connectedness in mobile gaming: how family dynamics shape children’s virtual interactions
By
Lu Pang
Siti Ezaleila Mustafa
Jiankun Gong
Yizhi Cheng
June 8, 2026
Objective: To examine how family dynamics influence children's emotional and social experiences around mobile gaming qualitatively.
Key Findings: Three family patterns emerged: Restrictive-Control Families, Supportive Co-Play Families, and Sibling-Mediated Families. Restrictive-Control Families exhibited high monitoring and low trust, leading to concealment and social shifts to virtual peers. Supportive Co-Play Families showed shared play and emotional communication, resulting in greater resilience and belonging among children. Sibling-Mediated Families utilized siblings as companions and emotional buffers, aiding in frustration management. No severe conflicts or distress were directly caused by gaming in any family pattern. Interpretation:
Limitations: The study's qualitative nature limits generalizability. The sample size was small and focused on specific geographic areas in China. Conclusion:
