How is exposure to video games associated with political attitude among young adults in Sweden
(2026) SIMZ51 20261Master of Science in Social Scientific Data Analysis
- Abstract
- This study examines the relationship between video games exposure and political attitudes among
young adults in Sweden. As video games have become one of the most prominent forms of
contemporary popular culture and entertainment media, and Sweden ranks as one of Europe’s most
founded gaming industries. It is important to understand whether gaming engagement is associated
with political socialisation.
Adopting a quantitative research analysis design, all data were collected from an online survey
improvising a Likert-scale, distributed through university networks and online communities,
comprising a sample of 72 respondents who aged around 18 to 35. The analysis used descriptive
statistics, Spearman rank-order correlations, and... (More) - This study examines the relationship between video games exposure and political attitudes among
young adults in Sweden. As video games have become one of the most prominent forms of
contemporary popular culture and entertainment media, and Sweden ranks as one of Europe’s most
founded gaming industries. It is important to understand whether gaming engagement is associated
with political socialisation.
Adopting a quantitative research analysis design, all data were collected from an online survey
improvising a Likert-scale, distributed through university networks and online communities,
comprising a sample of 72 respondents who aged around 18 to 35. The analysis used descriptive
statistics, Spearman rank-order correlations, and Mann-Whitney U tests to examine associations
between gaming exposure which measured from frequency, session duration, and genre. While
investigating political attitudes through political interest, political trust, and perception on political
influence of gaming.
The findings suggest that gaming exposure is selectively associated with political attitudes. Both
gaming frequency (r= 0.298, p= 0.011) and hours per session (r= 0.453, p< 0.001) appeared to be
significantly and positively correlated with the belief that gaming shapes individuals’ political
thinking, and excessive gaming was found negatively associated with political trust (r= 0.264, p=
0.025). There were no significant associations found between gaming exposure and general
political interest, freedom of speech attitudes, or political issues priorities. However, a significant
gender difference was identified, with male respondents reporting a substantially stronger
perception that gaming is more likely to influence their political thinking compared to female
respondents’ perspective (M= 3.75 vs F= 2.78, p= 0.001).
These findings indicate that video games function as a selective rather than broad site of political
meaning-making, especially among young men who generally engage intensively with gaming.
The study contributes to intersection of game studies, media studies, and political socialisation
research, and highlights the need for further investigation using larger or more diverse samples,
and more dynamic or longitudinal designs. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9232218
- author
- Bunyarat, Kasidach LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SIMZ51 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- video games, political attitudes, gaming exposure, political socialisation, young adults, Sweden, gender differences
- language
- English
- id
- 9232218
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-25 11:14:47
- date last changed
- 2026-06-25 11:14:47
@misc{9232218,
abstract = {{This study examines the relationship between video games exposure and political attitudes among
young adults in Sweden. As video games have become one of the most prominent forms of
contemporary popular culture and entertainment media, and Sweden ranks as one of Europe’s most
founded gaming industries. It is important to understand whether gaming engagement is associated
with political socialisation.
Adopting a quantitative research analysis design, all data were collected from an online survey
improvising a Likert-scale, distributed through university networks and online communities,
comprising a sample of 72 respondents who aged around 18 to 35. The analysis used descriptive
statistics, Spearman rank-order correlations, and Mann-Whitney U tests to examine associations
between gaming exposure which measured from frequency, session duration, and genre. While
investigating political attitudes through political interest, political trust, and perception on political
influence of gaming.
The findings suggest that gaming exposure is selectively associated with political attitudes. Both
gaming frequency (r= 0.298, p= 0.011) and hours per session (r= 0.453, p< 0.001) appeared to be
significantly and positively correlated with the belief that gaming shapes individuals’ political
thinking, and excessive gaming was found negatively associated with political trust (r= 0.264, p=
0.025). There were no significant associations found between gaming exposure and general
political interest, freedom of speech attitudes, or political issues priorities. However, a significant
gender difference was identified, with male respondents reporting a substantially stronger
perception that gaming is more likely to influence their political thinking compared to female
respondents’ perspective (M= 3.75 vs F= 2.78, p= 0.001).
These findings indicate that video games function as a selective rather than broad site of political
meaning-making, especially among young men who generally engage intensively with gaming.
The study contributes to intersection of game studies, media studies, and political socialisation
research, and highlights the need for further investigation using larger or more diverse samples,
and more dynamic or longitudinal designs.}},
author = {{Bunyarat, Kasidach}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{How is exposure to video games associated with political attitude among young adults in Sweden}},
year = {{2026}},
}