Mobile exergaming in adolescents’ everyday life—contextual design of where, when, with whom, and how: the SmartLife case

Exergames, more specifically console-based exergames, are generally enjoyed by adolescents and known to increase physical activity. Nevertheless, they have a reduced usage over time and demonstrate little effectiveness over the long term. In order to increase playing time, mobile exergames may increase potential playing time, but need to be engaging and integrated in everyday life. The goal of the present study was to examine the context of gameplay for mobile exergaming in adolescents’ everyday life to inform game design and the integration of gameplay into everyday life. Eight focus groups w... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Schwarz, Ayla
DeSmet, Ann
Cardon, Greet
Chastin, Sebastien
Costa, Ruben
Grilo, António
Ferri, Josue
Domenech, Jorge
Stragier, Jeroen
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
Reihe/Periodikum: Schwarz , A , DeSmet , A , Cardon , G , Chastin , S , Costa , R , Grilo , A , Ferri , J , Domenech , J & Stragier , J 2018 , ' Mobile exergaming in adolescents’ everyday life—contextual design of where, when, with whom, and how: the SmartLife case ' , International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , vol. 15 , no. 5 , pp. 835 . https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050835
Schlagwörter: Adolescent / Adolescent Health / Belgium / Child / Exercise/physiology / Female / Games / Recreational/psychology / Healthy Lifestyle / Humans / Male / Program Development / Program Evaluation / Sedentary Behavior / Video Games/psychology
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26975141
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
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Link(s) : https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/publications/1f693cf3-3ac1-4d74-8d1e-fceb4cfed1ac

Exergames, more specifically console-based exergames, are generally enjoyed by adolescents and known to increase physical activity. Nevertheless, they have a reduced usage over time and demonstrate little effectiveness over the long term. In order to increase playing time, mobile exergames may increase potential playing time, but need to be engaging and integrated in everyday life. The goal of the present study was to examine the context of gameplay for mobile exergaming in adolescents’ everyday life to inform game design and the integration of gameplay into everyday life. Eight focus groups were conducted with 49 Flemish adolescents (11 to 17 years of age). The focus groups were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed by means of thematic analysis via Nvivo 11 software (QSR International Pty Ltd., Victoria, Australia). The adolescents indicated leisure time and travel time to and from school as suitable timeframes for playing a mobile exergame. Outdoor gameplay should be restricted to the personal living environment of adolescents. Besides outdoor locations, the game should also be adaptable to at-home activities. Activities could vary from running outside to fitness exercises inside. Furthermore, the social context of the game was important, e.g., playing in teams or meeting at (virtual) meeting points. Physical activity tracking via smart clothing was identified as a motivator for gameplay. By means of this study, game developers may be better equipped to develop mobile exergames that embed gameplay in adolescents’ everyday life.