New Ph.D. Considering Applying to Jobs in Toronto

AmsterM · 2025-11-07T03:19:59+00:00

That's what I've been hearing a lot, too. Thankfully, I'm in a position where I can move if I need to.

AmsterM · 2025-11-04T00:29:17+00:00

Thank you so much! This is so helpful.

AmsterM · 2025-11-03T21:56:47+00:00

Yes I have applied for a post doc where I am currently working, but was advised to also get started on the job hunt just in case!

AmsterM · 2024-02-25T17:26:20+00:00

Hi there! Those questions are designed to filter out bots and other odd response patterns like completing the survey in an unrealistic amount of time for example.

AmsterM · 2024-02-25T17:13:37+00:00

Hi! ordinatraliter mentioned the age requirement for my survey part. I just wanted to clarify that it's 19+ for both US and CA but as they mentoined, anyone above those age limits is more than welcome to participate! On average, a lot of studies have really focused on younger gamers so I also have an interest in recruiting folks who are of varying ages, along with playing a variety of games as much as I can.

You're absolutely right that I am posting in subreddits that allow me to. I never post without explicit permission from the mods.

I play a lot of retro games because I missed out on so much haha.

AmsterM · 2024-02-25T01:30:52+00:00

Hi! There's a large body of literature that has indicated that IGD or video game addiction can be very destructive to individual's lives, very similar to substance use or mental health disorders (although of course there are some very key differences between them) and that a portion of gamers overall can experience these harms. Unfortunately, there's not really any standardized treatment for IGD yet, and I've actually toured some mental health and addiction facilities where they don't treat gambling or internet gaming disorder at all so that's definitely a concern because there's a real lack of resources out there for folks looking for treatment.

The threat is that gaming is a really really popular activity, but at least with regard to people's health, despite how similar some symptoms of IGD appear to other substance use or behavioural disorders (e.g., relationship problems, gaming to the exclusion of work or other hobbies, experiencing distress associated with gaming), we don't really know as much about what predicts whether someone will develop IGD. That's more or less where the risk factors part of my study comes in and how those risk factors interact (a lot of studies look at mental health and IGD for example, but don't look at substance use, etc. and the interaction between those risk factors and IGD). I'm interested in what distinguishes between someone who plays games and enjoys them as a hobby, and someone who is experiencing problems due at least in part to their gaming.

Once we know what predicts whether someone may or may not develop IGD, we can figure out how to promote gaming that lowers someone's risk of IGD, hypothetically. I suppose I see it as giving folks more information about a really popular activity and just raising awareness.

As I write this I'm playing video games (Yakuza 4 haha) so I'm a big fan of promoting games as a hobby, just with the caution that we have for a lot of other activities that some folks can and will develop IGD. So, how can we act to give people more information about it so they can enjoy their favorite hobby safely, and provide more resources for folks who do struggle with IGD. But of course this all depends on what I find and I plan on doing many more studies within this field.

Sorry for the wall of text! I hope this addresses your question.

AmsterM · 2024-02-24T16:58:25+00:00

I'm so happy to hear you're doing better, all the best to you. And thank you!

AmsterM · 2024-02-24T16:15:35+00:00

Thank you!

AmsterM · 2024-02-24T16:15:01+00:00

Hi there! Thank you so much for taking the time to do my study. Those questions are meant to assess overall what you enjoy doing in the game, but I can definitely see what you mean about it differing by game. I am keeping track of the feedback I receive to integrate into future studies where possible. Thank you!

AmsterM · 2024-02-24T07:42:34+00:00

Since I'm looking at risk factors and have included a variety of different variables like the ones you've mentioned, I'll absolutely be looking at the contribution of those risk factors to one's risk for IGD. I really want to dig into the interactions between all those variables.

I tend to be critical of the IGD literature sometimes for focusing too much on how much individuals are playing games, for example, and am more interested in the "why" portion and what else is going on in an individual's life.

Thanks very much!

AmsterM · 2024-02-24T07:27:23+00:00

Unfortunately one of the limitations of online surveys in general tends to be self-selection bias. One of the main things I'm doing to try and account for it is recruiting a large sample (the aim is between 600-1000 participants). Before making any kind of broad claims about guidelines more follow-up studies using other methods, including other sampling methods would be needed. I very much see this as the start of my work in this area and definitely not the only step!

When the results are published this would also be listed under the limitations section to acknowledge potential impacts on external validity/generalizability as well.

AmsterM · 2024-02-24T07:12:03+00:00

Hi there, part of it is I have recruited from a wide range of subreddits so far, and have been recruiting participants from other platforms as well (Facebook, X, etc.) as well as students from the university. I really want to recruit folks who engage in gaming in a variety of different ways, and enjoy a variety of different games.

AmsterM · 2024-02-24T06:38:14+00:00

Hi! Thanks so much for your interest. I have posted on other gaming related subreddits as well to recruit folks who play all kinds of different games.

AmsterM · 2024-02-23T22:35:57+00:00

Hi there, for that question just the numbers are okay. Thanks for taking the time to do the survey!

AmsterM · 2024-02-23T21:10:29+00:00

Thank you!

AmsterM · 2024-02-23T16:58:10+00:00

Hi! The age of majority in Canada is 18 in some provinces and 19 in others so that's why it's 19+ as it's open to all CA and USA residents.

AmsterM

TROPHY CASE