Alibis for Adult Play: A Goffmanian Account of Escaping Embarrassment in Adult Play

TY - JOUR

T1 - Alibis for Adult Play

T2 - A Goffmanian Account of Escaping Embarrassment in Adult Play

AU - Deterding, Christoph Sebastian

PY - 2018/5/1

Y1 - 2018/5/1

N2 - The social meanings of play sit at odds with norms of responsible and productive adult conduct. To be ‘caught’ playing as an adult therefore risks embarrassment. Still, many designers want to create enjoyable, non-embarrassing play experiences for adults. To address this need, this article reads instances of spontaneous adult play through the lens of Erving Goffman’s theory of the interaction order to unpack conditions and strategies for non-embarrassing adult play. It identifies established frames, segregated audiences, scripts supporting smooth performance, managing audience awareness, role distancing, and particularly, alibis for play: Adults routinely provide alternative, adult-appropriate motives to account for their play, like childcare, professional duties, creative expression, or health. Once legitimized, the norms and rules of play themselves then provide an alibi for behavior that would risk being embarrassingly inappropriate or exposing outside of play.

AB - The social meanings of play sit at odds with norms of responsible and productive adult conduct. To be ‘caught’ playing as an adult therefore risks embarrassment. Still, many designers want to create enjoyable, non-embarrassing play experiences for adults. To address this need, this article reads instances of spontaneous adult play through the lens of Erving Goffman’s theory of the interaction order to unpack conditions and strategies for non-embarrassing adult play. It identifies established frames, segregated audiences, scripts supporting smooth performance, managing audience awareness, role distancing, and particularly, alibis for play: Adults routinely provide alternative, adult-appropriate motives to account for their play, like childcare, professional duties, creative expression, or health. Once legitimized, the norms and rules of play themselves then provide an alibi for behavior that would risk being embarrassingly inappropriate or exposing outside of play.

KW - accounts

KW - adult play

KW - adulthood

KW - alibi

KW - embarrassment

KW - Erving Goffman

KW - frame analysis

KW - motivational accounting system

KW - role distance

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045646638&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/1555412017721086

DO - 10.1177/1555412017721086

M3 - Article

SN - 1555-4120

VL - 13

SP - 260

EP - 279

JO - Games and Culture

JF - Games and Culture

IS - 3

ER -