Abstract

Digitalization associated with the concept of networks has turned into one of the fundamental partnerships of the world’s communities. Digital games represent a large part of the virtual world due to the complex networks of technology, communication, and player interaction they establish. Digital games, with their increasing number of users every year, continue to grow in their economic market area. This study consists of data obtained by applying the scale created by researchers Sağır and Okutan in the cities of Istanbul and Izmir. The study analyzed the relationships between game-related socialization, motivation to engage with the game, and the meaning and value attributed to the game among a sample of secondary school students, using a structural equation model. The study sample consisted of 848 students (41% female; mean age = 12.19) from fifteen secondary schools, selected through a purposive sampling method. The scale was administered face-to-face in the students’ classrooms by the field team under teacher supervision between January and February 2023. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 23.0 and SmartPLS 4.0 programs, and structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between variables according to the research hypotheses. Least squares path analysis (PLS-SEM) was used in analyzing the research model. According to the study’s findings, game-related socializing and game value had an important and positive effect on secondary school students’ motivation to engage with games.