Digital Game Addiction and Attitudes Toward Physical Activity in Generation Alpha: A Study on Middle School Students

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between digital game addiction and attitudes toward physical activity among Generation Alpha middle school students. The study employed a correlational survey design and included 427 middle school students recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a demographic information form, the "Physical Activity Attitude Scale," (Savaş &Çelik Kayapınar,2013) and the "Digital Game Addiction Scale" (Yalçın Irmak & Erdoğan, 2015). Data were evaluated using independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Welch's ANOVA, appropriate post hoc tests, and Pearson's correlation analysis. The results showed a weak but positive and statistically significant relationship between digital game addiction and attitudes towards physical activity (r = .262, p < .001). While no significant difference was found in digital game addiction scores according to gender, female students had significantly higher physical activity attitude scores compared to male students. Significant differences were also observed according to parental educational level, game preference, and students' self-descriptions, whereas smartphone ownership was not associated with significant differences in either digital game addiction or physical activity attitude scores. The findings suggest that digital game addiction and positive attitudes toward physical activity may coexist among middle school students belonging to Generation Alpha. However, since the study assessed attitudes rather than actual physical activity behavior, this positive association should not be interpreted to mean that students with higher digital game addiction scores engage in higher levels of physical activity. Keywords: Attitude towards physical activity, digital game

Keywords

• Attitude towards physical activity
• digital game addiction
• generation Alpha
• middle school students
• physical activity.

Alfa Kuşağında Dijital Oyun Bağımlılığı ve Fiziksel Aktivite Tutumu: Ortaokul Öğrencileri Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Alfa Kuşağı ortaokul öğrencilerinde dijital oyun bağımlılığı ile fiziksel aktiviteye yönelik tutumlar arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemeyi amaçlamıştır. Çalışmada ilişkisel tarama modeli kullanılmış ve kolayda örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilen 427 ortaokul öğrencisi araştırmaya dahil edilmiştir. Veriler; demografik bilgi formu, "Fiziksel Aktiviteye Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği" (Savaş ve Çelik Kayapınar, 2013) ve "Dijital Oyun Bağımlılığı Ölçeği" (Yalçın Irmak ve Erdoğan, 2015) kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Veriler; bağımsız örneklemler t-testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA), Welch ANOVA, uygun post-hoc testleri ve Pearson korelasyon analizi kullanılarak değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuçlar, dijital oyun bağımlılığı ile fiziksel aktiviteye yönelik tutumlar arasında zayıf ancak pozitif ve istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir ilişki olduğunu göstermiştir (r = .262, p < .001). Cinsiyete göre dijital oyun bağımlılığı puanlarında anlamlı bir fark bulunmazken, kız öğrencilerin fiziksel aktiviteye yönelik tutum puanları erkek öğrencilere kıyasla anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek çıkmıştır. Ebeveyn eğitim düzeyi, oyun tercihi ve öğrencilerin kendilerini tanımlama biçimlerine göre de anlamlı farklılıklar gözlemlenmiş; buna karşın akıllı telefon sahipliği, dijital oyun bağımlılığı veya fiziksel aktiviteye yönelik tutum puanlarında anlamlı farklılıklarla ilişkilendirilmemiştir. Bulgular, Alfa Kuşağı'na mensup ortaokul öğrencilerinde dijital oyun bağımlılığı ile fiziksel aktiviteye yönelik olumlu tutumların bir arada bulunabileceğini göstermektedir. Ancak çalışma, fiili fiziksel aktivite davranışından ziyade tutumları değerlendirdiğinden, bu pozitif ilişki, dijital oyun bağımlılığı puanı daha yüksek olan öğrencilerin daha yüksek düzeyde fiziksel aktivite yaptığı şeklinde yorumlanmamalıdır.

Keywords

• Alfa kuşağı
• dijital oyun bağımlılığı
• fiziksel aktivite
• fiziksel aktivite tutumu
• ortaokul öğrencileri

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