The online gaming industry has been on a roll lately, but it has also become a breeding ground for toxic behavior and online hate.
In the United States alone, where 64 percent of the online population plays video games, a big chunk says they have experienced harassment while playing online games, a new report says.
The study, published Thursday, was conducted by civil rights nonprofit Anti-Defamation League's Center on Technology and Society in collaboration with games and esports analytics firm Newzoo.
The Toxic Culture
From April 19 to May 1, ADL surveyed 1,045 adults aged 18 to 45. The results show that 74 percent of the respondents say they've experienced some form of harassment while playing online games, and 65 percent reported experiencing "severe harassment," such as physical threats, sustained harassment, and stalking.
The study also revealed that 38 percent of the women in the survey encountered harassment due to their gender, and 35 percent of LGBTQ players were harassed due to their sexual orientation.
Of those who reported being harassed, 53 percent said they were targeted because of their ethnicity, race, ability, religion, gender, and sexual orientation.
Surprisingly, amid all the toxicity and hate going on in the online community, 88 percent of the respondents said they've experienced "positive social experiences while playing games online." Fifty-one percent found friends, while 50 percent said they helped other players.
According them, they encountered positive experiences while playing World of Warcraft, Minecraft, NBA 2k, Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Fortnite.
Effects Of Online Harassment
More than statistics and citing forms of harassment in the online gaming community, the survey highlights the lasting effects of online harassment on people.
The study says that 23 percent of players became less social and 15 percent felt isolated after experiencing harassment. Alarmingly, one in 10 players said they had suicidal thoughts after being harassed while playing online games.
ADL says that involved parties, such as game developers and publishers, federal and state governments, and the civil society, should take steps to address harassment in the online gaming community.
