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Internet cafe patrons seek social space, study

More than half of people who frequent Internet cafes have Internet access at home, a joint study conducted by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Group (SOBAK) has found.

Titled “A Look at the Digital Games Culture of Internet Cafes in Turkey,” the study shows that Internet cafes function as the most popular social gathering space for young people. The study also examined the type of games popular among young people. The study was conducted through in-depth interviews with 58 Internet cafe operators and targeted-group interviews with more than 300 participants — 278 male — aged between 15 and 50. The study found that Internet cafes are generally used by young males who are single, generally attending high schools or universities, aged between 12 and 25, and that more than half of them have Internet access at home. Participants gave the following answers as to why they use Internet cafes, listed in order of importance: friends, warm attitude of operators, their cleanliness and order, powerful computer hardware, proximity to school and home, availability of diverse computer games and availability of service on credit.

The most important finding of the study is that Internet cafes serve as socializing environments for young people. Internet cafe users tend to use cafes for playing games, instant messaging, searching, conversation and doing homework. Another interesting outcome of the study is that about half of young people spend money for the games they play. In addition to hourly fees for Internet usage, Internet cafe users tend to pay fixed fees for some games, subscription feeds, premium sales and buying game CDs. “I spend money because every game costs something. I pay YTL 20 per month,” a university student says. In general, young Internet cafe users spend money on premiums, game accessories, to trade objects, selling characters or developing avatars, selling used games, etc. A male university graduate said that big sums are spent in games. “For instance, we sold the Czar for YTL 7.50 and included a safe-box with him. A gamer from Israel bought it,” he says. Another participant, a high school student, explains that some would give their cars for the game.

The study also found that young people tend to play team games instead of playing individually. “When it is teamwork it is much more entertaining. All your teammates are from real life. I really enjoy this,” they say. Youngsters who prefer online games say that they like online games because they want “to get to know new friends from different cultures, to improve a second language, to explore the commercial potential and to be skilled in developing their communication skills.” Internet cafe patrons list long durations of games, spending money on games and bad language and smoking in the cafes as negative aspects of Internet cafes.

Source: todayszaman.com