Adolescents who befriend online game using peers may be at risk for initiated and continued excessive game use (online gaming use homophily). The present article examined how adolescents’ severity of online gaming use related to their friends’ online gaming behavior bi-directionally across a semester (peer selection or peer influence effect). Students from two universities completed three waves of online surveys within four and a half months (N = 3079; 33.6% female; M_age = 19.16; SD = 0.97). Random-intercepts, Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) analyses revealed that peer selection and peer influence both promote online gaming use homophily in adolescents’ friendship groups. Furthermore, participants were more likely to form new friendships with peers exhibiting similar online gaming behavior as their behavior, subsequently reinforcing their online gaming use behaviors within these relationships. These social processes may exhibit a time lag among girls, which needs to be confirmed through longer-term follow-up. In general, findings suggest that effective prevention programs targeting excessive online gaming should not only focus on promoting social influence skills but also consider the structure of peer environments.

使用同龄人玩在线游戏的青少年可能面临开始和持续过度使用游戏的风险（在线游戏使用同质性）。本文研究了青少年使用网络游戏的严重程度与其朋友在一个学期内的在线游戏行为之间的双向关系（同伴选择或同伴影响效应）。来自两所大学的学生在四个半月内完成了三波在线调查（N = 3079；33.6% 女性； M_年龄= 19.16； SD = 0.97）。随机截取的交叉滞后面板模型（RI-CLPM）分析表明，同伴选择和同伴影响都促进青少年友谊群体中在线游戏使用的同质性。此外，参与者更有可能与表现出与自己行为相似的在线游戏行为的同伴形成新的友谊，从而在这些关系中强化他们的在线游戏使用行为。这些社会过程在女孩中可能表现出时间滞后，这需要通过更长期的随访来证实。总的来说，研究结果表明，针对过度在线游戏的有效预防计划不仅应注重提升社会影响力技能，还应考虑同伴环境的结构。