Parenting Emerging Adults Who Game Excessively: Parents’ Lived Experiences

Excessive gaming among emerging adults is a growing concern, especially in cases where it interferes with key developmental milestones such as gaining an education or establishing a career. Although researchers have begun to understand the effects of excessive gaming on young people themselves, we know remarkably little about how emerging adults’ gaming may affect family relationships. Utilizing phenomenological interviewing of parents of emerging adult sons who game excessively, this study presents a rich description of the experience of parenting a young adult who games excessively. In-depth interviews were conducted with two fathers and two mothers. Findings suggested that parents felt their sons were missing out on aspects of their life due to their gaming and were not meeting their full potential. They also felt their children were odd and it was difficult to know how to talk to their sons about their gaming. Finally, they believed their sons were addicted to gaming. Using the family systems theory as well as life course theory of development, implications for families are discussed.