Kaixin Bao,1 Xiaobin Zhang,1,2 Lianyu Cai1 

1College of Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Taizhou University, School of Life Science, Taizhou, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Xiaobin Zhang; Lianyu Cai, College of Education, Zhejiang Normal University, No. 688 Yingbin Avenue, Jinhua, Zhejiang, 321004, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 1 365 586 3110 ; +86 1 516 794 4636, Fax +86-0576-88660338, Email zhangxiaobin611@126.com; cailianyu@zjnu.cn

Purpose: With the rapid development of information, digital networks, and artificial intelligence technologies, the new generation of children growing up with electronic products faces the dilemma of addiction to online games. There is a significant correlation between the addiction of rural children to online games and the lack of proper parental upbringing.
Patients and Methods: Based on purposive sampling, the research selected 41 sixth-grade rural children, 20 parents, and 14 teachers from three cities in Zhejiang Province, China. Three rounds of semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted.
Results: The research portrayed that the parental upbringing styles of rural children addicted to online games could be categorized into four types: conflict and chaos type, indulgent and permissive type, disciplinary neglect type, and coercive and brutal type. All four parenting styles were related to emotional involvement and value guidance.
Discussion: Both the parenting styles of rural parents and the children’s addiction to online games were difficult to self-update and change, and they mutually “affirmed” and even reinforced each other. Insufficient cultural capital was found in rural families, resulting in a closed loop between parental upbringing and online game addiction. Introducing professional expertise, increasing cultural capital, and promoting improvement in rural parenting styles are crucial.

Keywords: rural children, online game addiction, parental upbringing, closed-loop effect, narrative research