Social gaming--online gameplay involving digital interactions with others--is a common form of social media use among adolescents. Research on this topic has neglected the social aspect of gaming and the potential role of social gaming in adolescent development. In this article, we define social gaming, drawing on interdisciplinary theories to…

It has long been assumed that children and adolescents want to be with their peers and therefore make active efforts to engage with them. However, a sizable minority of youth avoid peers for internal reasons (e.g., anxiety, preferences for solitude) or because they are socially withdrawn. Although by definition, withdrawn youth tend to stay away…