This study investigates the role played by parents as mediators of young children's access and engagement with digital technologies. In Belgium, Germany, Latvia and Portugal, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 families in each country, including one child between 6 and 7 years old. Our findings show that parents of young children mainly play the role of 'gatekeepers' when it comes to facilitating and constraining access to and use of digital technologies. Parents' perceptions of the efficacy of digital technologies as responsible entertainment and as educational tools influence the technologies available at home and

Building on the results of a qualitative study with 16 male refugees (mostly from Syria) settled in the Netherlands, this article reports on an investigation that applied insights from the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) framework and refugee studies to examine the media use of refugees and to link these to the material, social and psychological needs emerging from the journey. With a focus on the smartphone, our study distinguished four significant clusters of media U&G among the sampling population: smartphone as companion, an organisational hub, a lifeline and diversion. First, the use of smartphones was linked to refugees’ need to contact family, friends and connect with migrant communities. The importance of establishing contact with other refugees and smugglers through smartphones reinforces the agency of these migration networks within mobility processes. The findings also point to refugees’ smartphone usage for getting a sense of security. Finally, this study demonstrated the use of smartphones for preserving memories of the journey through the storage of pictures taken of important moments experienced during the flight. Additional studies should include other methodologies and samples to further validate our theoretical framework and findings.

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A quantitative exploration is presented of the concept of perceived digital game realism, based upon the frameworks described by Malliet (2006), and Shapiro, Peña-Herborn, and Hancock (2006). The concepts and categories outlined in both studies are complemented with an additional literature study and subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. Principal axis factoring was performed on items completed by 385 respondents whose ages ranged between 15 and 19 years. Seven factors of perceived game realism were identified: simulation, freedom of choice, character involvement, perceptual pervasiveness, authenticity regarding subject matter, authenticity regarding characters, and social realism. These findings are to a considerable extent congruent with the theoretical framework.

Perceived realism is considered a key concept in explaining the mental processing of media messages and the societal impact of media. Despite its importance, little is known about its conceptualization and dimensional structure, especially with regard to digital games. The aim of this study was to test a six-factor model of perceived game realism comprised of simulational realism, freedom of choice, perceptual pervasiveness, social realism, authenticity, and character involvement and to assess it against an alternative single- and five-factor model. Data were collected from 380 male digital game users who judged the realism of the first-person shooter Half-Life 2 based upon their previous experience with the game. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to investigate which model fits the data best. The results support the six-factor model over the single- and five-factor solutions. The study contributes to our knowledge of perceived game realism by further developing its conceptualization and measurement.

Belgium) and a Lecturer/Researcher at the LUCA School of Arts in Genk (Belgium). His research topics include digital game effects, player experiences, serious games and game realism. Joyce Koeman, PhD in Communication Sciences at KU Leuven (2011) is a Tenure-track Professor at the Institute for Media Studies, KU Leuven (Belgium). Her research interests include media representations, advertising, ethnic marketing, etc. Wannes Ribbens, PhD in Communication Sciences at KU Leuven (2013) is a Researcher at the Department of Media & Communication at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Research Advisor at KU Leuven (Belgium). His research topics include digital games, game realism, and digital gameplay styles.

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This study explores the various ways in which male young adults engage with violence in video games. Based on an ethnographic study ( N = 26) with triangulation of diary reports, focus group interviews and a video commentary model, three conceptual axes are distinguished along which players differ in their enactment of video game violence: narration versus action, discovery versus mission-based play and reaction versus strategic play. The results suggest that individual playing styles result in exposure to different quantities and a different quality of virtual violence.