ABSTRACT

How does engagement in leisure activities, such as playing videogames, affect political behavior and preferences? Are young adult gamers just a group of basement-dwellers who are disengaged from politics, or are there specific political issues that gamers care about? Analysis of panel data of Swedish young adults suggests that avid gamers are more likely than non-gamers to care about issues that fall under the umbrella of Pirate politics, and therefore support the Swedish Pirate Party. Avid gamers are also more likely to use the Internet to engage in political behavior. These findings help explain the political attitudes of the ever-growing number of young adult gamers, and the effects of seemingly apolitical leisure activities on political behavior more broadly.

摘要

参与休闲活动（例如玩电子游戏）如何影响政治行为和偏好？年轻的成年游戏玩家只是一群脱离政治的地下室居民，还是游戏玩家关心的特定政治问题？瑞典年轻人的面板数据分析表明，狂热的游戏玩家比非游戏玩家更有可能关心属于海盗政治范畴的问题，因此支持瑞典海盗党。狂热的游戏玩家也更有可能使用互联网参与政治行为。这些发现有助于解释越来越多的年轻成年游戏玩家的政治态度，以及看似非政治性的休闲活动对更广泛的政治行为的影响。