Cognitive and social drivers of online gaming: impact of anticipated enjoyment, subjective norms, and moral foundations on gaming addiction among youth

Technology has become an integral part in lives of young adults' who spend hours on online activities. This study aims to investigate the impact of sources of entertainment, subjective norms and moral foundations on gaming addiction in Pakistani youth. A sample of 385 online gamers aged 17–23 years completed an online assessment battery comprising the Anticipated Enjoyment Scale, Moral Foundations Questionnaire, Subjective Norms Scale, and Gaming Addiction Scale. Regression analysis indicated moral foundations to be a significant predictor of gaming addiction, presenting 9% variance. Anticipated enjoyment through social subjective norms presented a strong mediation impact on gaming addiction (indirect: a₁b₁ = .051, 95% CI [.018, 0.133]), whereas moral foundations showed a direct effect (β = .24, p < .001). These findings are important for reviewing sociocultural aspects of collectivistic society. These concepts can be utilized to improve gaming experience and promote moral values by through appropriate gaming content.