Alone or together? Exploring the role of desire for online group gaming in players’ social game addiction

Drawing on dual-system theory, this study examines the role of desire for online group gaming in online social game addiction. By conducting a longitudinal online survey, we show that attitude, anticipated enjoyment, group norm, and social identity contribute to the development of desire for online group gaming. Such desire facilitates habit and self-regulation deficiency, which, in turn, fosters online social game addiction. This study contributes to the literature by theorizing a nomological network of desire for online group gaming on online social game addiction and by offering implications for managing addictive gaming.