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SGDY experience significant social challenges that negatively impact their mental health (Russell & Fish, 2016) but they commonly interact with digital technologies (e.g., the internet, social media, apps, video games) as part of resilience processes that can support their wellbeing (Craig et al., 2023). Indeed, games may be outpacing music as the most important aspect of youth culture (Monahan, 2021), with SGDY—and particularly trans, gender diverse people, and gay males aged 14-29—evidencing high rates of video game console ownership, potentially implicating video games in coping and developmental processes that support wellbeing (McInroy et al., 2019). However, more research is needed to elucidate these links. This study investigates the experiences SGDY have while playing video games and how video gaming contributes to identity development and wellbeing among SGDY.
Methods
40 Canadian SGDY aged 16-29 (M = 22.91, SD = 3.67) representing diverse intersectional identities were recruited from a video gaming survey after expressing interest in participating in a 45-120-minute Zoom screenshot elicitation interview. Most common gender identities were nonbinary (25%) and cisgender men and women (12.5% each); most common sexual identities were bisexual (17.5%) and gay, pansexual, and queer (12.5% each); and most common racial identities were White (45%) and Asian (22.5%). Screenshot elicitation uses participant-gathered screenshots to elicit richer dialogue, memories, and experiences in semi-structured interviews (Flore, 2022). Interviews focused on LGBTQ+ representation, plotlines, and gaming experiences. Interview transcripts, videos, and screenshots were coded three times in NVivo 12 by eight trained analysts with diverse educational and personal identities to identify themes and patterns within the data using multi-modal (i.e., text-, video-, and image-based) constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014). Monthly meetings were held to discuss coding, compare and integrate codes across data modalities, conduct inter-rater reliability, and synthesize and refine the emerging themes.
Results
Four themes were drawn from the data reflecting how the participants used video gaming to support aspects of their wellbeing. 1) SGDY used video game character creators, avatars, and screen names to support gender and sexual self-expression and -exploration. 2) SGDY used video games to develop relationships with significant people (e.g., family members, partners, and friends), and to make new friends. 3) SGDY sought out video games with affirming intersectional LGBTQ+ representation and elaborated on positive and negative aspects of LGBTQ+ lives that they wanted to see reflected in video games. 4) SGDY ‘queered’ video game characters and storylines that did not have LGBTQ+ content, reimagining these fictional worlds through an LGBTQ+ affirming lens to foster their wellbeing.
Conclusions and Implications
These findings address a key gap in understanding how SGDY support their wellbeing through resilience processes mediated by commercial video games, potentially in the absence of affirming offline environments. This work also establishes video game screenshots as a unique and rich data source for understanding the digital lives of SGDY. The study further demonstrates the importance of LGBTQ+ affirming media representation and inclusive game design, which could be used to develop and improve video game-based mental health interventions aimed at SGDY.