Discussion of the Weaknesses of the Reviewed Literature
In this literature review, several studies on intergenerational game play were discussed in order to understand the nature of intergenerational play in games, with a focus on digital games, and the impact of playing games on negative attitudes of both the young and the elderly towards each other. We started with the studies exploring the characteristics of intergenerational interaction in gameplay and then went on to focus on research examining such interaction in leisure activities, physical and non-digital games, and finally digital games. First of all, it was found that Allport’s intergroup theory has been a recurrent theoretical ground informing many of such studies. We also saw that …show more content…
The characteristics of intergenerational play, according to the reviewed studies, include the importance of the content of the contact for positive interaction; the asymmetrical reciprocity and taking various roles by both age groups in order to extend interaction; social interaction, rather than completing the game, as the primary reason for the elderly to play the games; and the age groups’ preference for collaborative games, rather than competitive ones, when engaging in intergenerational …show more content…
It was reported that playing intergenerational games regularly for a few weeks improved youngsters’ perceptions of the elderly and reduced their ageist attitudes, at least for a short time. Moreover, people who interacted with players of another age group increased their intergenerational contact in the real-life, while those who did not engaged in the game plays showed no significant difference in their frequency of their contact with other age groups. The attitude changes in the elderly, however, was not measured in almost all of the reviewed studies, as the focus was on the ageist attitudes of children towards the elderly. Interestingly, the digital divide between the parents/grandparents and children was also found to be a resource in digital game play that generates positive contact and effective interactions that, in turn, improves intergenerational attitudes. Finally, it was reported that playing intergenerational games increased social connectedness and reduced depression among the
In this literature review, several studies on intergenerational game play were discussed in order to understand the nature of intergenerational play in games, with a focus on digital games, and the impact of playing games on negative attitudes of both the young and the elderly towards each other. We started with the studies exploring the characteristics of intergenerational interaction in gameplay and then went on to focus on research examining such interaction in leisure activities, physical and non-digital games, and finally digital games. First of all, it was found that Allport’s intergroup theory has been a recurrent theoretical ground informing many of such studies. We also saw that …show more content…
The characteristics of intergenerational play, according to the reviewed studies, include the importance of the content of the contact for positive interaction; the asymmetrical reciprocity and taking various roles by both age groups in order to extend interaction; social interaction, rather than completing the game, as the primary reason for the elderly to play the games; and the age groups’ preference for collaborative games, rather than competitive ones, when engaging in intergenerational …show more content…
It was reported that playing intergenerational games regularly for a few weeks improved youngsters’ perceptions of the elderly and reduced their ageist attitudes, at least for a short time. Moreover, people who interacted with players of another age group increased their intergenerational contact in the real-life, while those who did not engaged in the game plays showed no significant difference in their frequency of their contact with other age groups. The attitude changes in the elderly, however, was not measured in almost all of the reviewed studies, as the focus was on the ageist attitudes of children towards the elderly. Interestingly, the digital divide between the parents/grandparents and children was also found to be a resource in digital game play that generates positive contact and effective interactions that, in turn, improves intergenerational attitudes. Finally, it was reported that playing intergenerational games increased social connectedness and reduced depression among the