Today, I got the chance to present my project in a supergroup tutorial, this is a nice change that allowed me to learn about the work of my peers who I hadn’t had the opportunity to hear from before.
As stated in my previous entry, my project has taken a new direction, one that feels more personal and true to my own experiences. I introduced my question to the supergroup: “How can social confidence be improved in underconfident-individuals through non-clinical, engaging methods?” I spoke about the potential of gamification in social skill development, backed by several recent studies published between 2022 and 2024. However, these papers, such as the one by Bean (2023), pointed out that while role-playing games (RPGs) offer a therapeutic framework, their effectiveness relies on a therapist to design specific in-game scenarios. Here, I see an opportunity: what if I could develop a game that provides the means for social skills practice without needing clinical (therapist) involvement? This could fill the gap between potential and practice, making it more accessible for individuals to engage with and benefit from.
Today’s tutorial feedback pointed out the broadness of the term “underconfident-individuals” within my question. Upon hearing this, I immediately thought about narrowing down the target group to “online gamers.” Fortunately, I quickly caught myself leaning towards a stereotype. Despite being a gamer myself, I still catch myself making these kinds of assumptions at times, my brain wasn’t braining properly at that moment. Research from my previous pop-up intervention project indicates that the common stereotype of gamers as young, male, and socially inept is increasingly outdated (Wellings 2010). I realized it’s important to specify my target audience to avoid broad generalizations and not to inadvertently reinforce stereotypes associated with gamers. Not all gamers fit the shy, introverted profile, and my project should not lazily fall into this misconception. Instead, I’m going to hone in on gamers who, like some friends I know, are shy or less confident in offline social interactions.
A classmate who also identifies as a gamer approached me during the break, expressing interest in this project due to his/her own struggles with speaking confidently in a formal public setting. I think I may have found my first stakeholder!? It’s encouraging to know that there are people who can directly relate to the project’s goals. I will definitely be having more conversations with this classmate as I flesh out my initial idea and refine my question.
References
Bean, A. and Connell, M., 2023. The Rise of the Use of TTRPGs and RPGs in Therapeutic Endeavors. Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy Research, [e-journal] 10, pp.1-12.
Wellings, E.H., 2010. The Negative Stereotypes of Online Gamers and Their Communication Consequences.