The results of a new study published by mental health advocacy organization Take This, have revealed that people who strongly view themselves as ‘gamers’ as a large part of their identity are more likely to be prone to extreme behaviours including racism, sexism and misogyny.
The research was comprised of three studies that surveyed hundreds of people who played video games and analyzed their beliefs. Dr Rachel Kowert, one of the authors of the study, tells Vice Media that there is no suggestion that the broader populace of players fits into the potential toxic player category.
However, the results indicate certain gaming spaces are particularly conducive to ‘identity fusion’ (a fusing of a person’s individual identity with their social identity) which leads to a smaller, toxic portion of the gaming community engaging in anti-social behaviours:
“When the gamer identity is core to who you are as a person, that seems to reflect what we call toxic gamer culture, tends to reflect more exclusion than inclusion… All these things that we know exist in gaming spaces seem to be internalized by those who very closely identify as being part of that community.
Gamer communities represent a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they may provide a sense of connection and purpose for individuals who suffer from loneliness and insecurity.
On the other hand, they may expose gamers to hateful speech and social toxicity that can increase their susceptibility to extremist propaganda. In the worst-case scenario, gamers may be lured into embracing extremist beliefs that lead them down the path to radicalization.”
One of the studies found anti-social behaviour more strongly correlated with competitive gaming (ala “Call of Duty”) as compared to cooperative gaming (ala “Minecraft”), though Kowert doesn’t put it down to the content so much as the community in which players are being immersed.
Some of those communities are fighting back against toxic players though, with Activision revealing last month it had enforcement and anti-toxicity teams in place for its “Call of Duty” franchise and has banned half a million accounts to date. A statement about their efforts is up at CallOfDuty.com.
Kowert also advised not to read too heavily into the study, saying that with the long history of the media sensationalizing video games, there’s concern her research will be taken out of context:
“I think that games are wonderful places that have more positive things to offer than negative things across the board. I think it’s important that we have the conversation that games are being leveraged in this way, because we’re not having that conversation, and therefore we can’t mitigate it if we don’t have the conversation.”
The study interviewed people who identify as ‘gamers’, but that label itself has come into dispute due in part to problematic self-appointed gatekeepers within the community itself. Some restrict the label only to those who are members of the so-called ‘PC Master Race’, whilst for its others, it’s only those who play competitive multiplayer games or games above a ‘normal’ difficulty level. A full breakdown of that issue is up at MakeUseOf.com
Meanwhile, the full gamer toxicity study results are up at FrontiersIn.org.
