![]() Similarly, a study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association ( ESA, 2015) stated gaming has partly shifted from being console and PC-based to being multiplatform and cross-platform (i.e., video games with an online component allowing gamers to use different hardware). Europeans have adopted mobile games, which have become the most downloaded applications (“apps”) on smartphones. According to a Deloitte ( 2014) report, mobile games represent one of the fastest growing sectors of the mobile application industry in Europe. In contrast, Europe represents a quarter of the global games market, according to the Global Games Market Report ( Newzoo, 2017), with 78% of European mobile gamers playing freemium games ( Deloitte, 2015). Some studies have focused on gaming through smartphones, especially in Asia ( Lee, 2017 Su et al., 2016). Moreover, the social elements of most mobile games are major features in current digital gaming because social networking sites (SNSs) are successfully integrated and used across many gaming platforms. Mobile games are video games played online via a mobile device, and are particularly popular when downloaded for free (e.g., “freemium game” – games played for free and where customers can pay for extra features), and can be single-player or multiplayer games ( Su, Chiang, Lee, & Chang, 2016). Given rapid developments in mobile technology, smartphone gaming requires an in-depth exploration to ascertain factors that may contribute to problematic use. Smartphone gaming has been one form of popular mobile entertainment engaged in on a variety of devices, accounting for more than 42% (i.e., 32% for smartphones and 10% for tablets) of the global games market (i.e., 47% Asia-pacific, 25% North America, 24% Europe, Middle-East and Africa, and 4% Latin-America Newzoo, 2017). Over the past two decades, the use of mobile technologies has evolved to comprise a set of behaviors that have become ubiquitous in people’s daily lives, especially for youth ( Hoffner, Lee, & Park, 2016 Okazaki, Skapa, & Grande, 2008). Interacting with mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) has now become strongly embedded in contemporary societies across the world as many different types of activity can now be engaged in (e.g., gaming, gambling, and social networking).
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