It is common knowledge that the gaming industry makes twice as much as both the film and music industry combined. With so many people addicted to these online games, think what might go down behind these small screens that most of the people seem to neglect while thinking about wealth and entertainment. After the launch of the recent #MeToo movement, harassment is one of the most talked-about topics on the internet. The shocking reveal of how Hollywood was working a predator for harassment of all kinds was very shocking for everyone, however, tables have turned on the gaming industry now.
According to a recent survey conducted by Anti-Defamation League, it was estimated that almost 65 percent of the players and users of the online gaming has experienced harassment of some kind by other players. Since, there is no direct contact, the harassment is usually threats about the physical violence, racism, sexual harassment and doxing. Apart from the physical and sexual harassment, racism is quite common, almost 9% of the users have reported that they have experienced discussions about the holocaust and around 23% of these gamers have reported that they have been exposed to white supremacy in chat rooms attached to these online games.
Apart from how often gamers were exposed to the harassment during games, there was seen a specific pattern which exposed that there are certain games that were considered hothouses for these discussion and gamers playing these games were more likely to be harassed. the most notorious of these games is Dota 2, where 79% of the players have reported severe harassment. The second most notorious game in this list is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where 75% of the players have faced harassment.
The fact that there are patterns of harassment that are evident in this study is quite shocking. It was previously perceived that people with greater power are capable of harassment only, however, this study reveals that anyone and everyone is capable of harassment which only makes things worse. Despite all these harassment cases, the study also revealed that 88% of the users have reported that they had a positive experience while playing games, which includes making online friends, productive discussions, finding a common ground of interaction and sharing tips.
Read next: Tencent, Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Google: Which Companies Earn the Most Money From Games?
According to a recent survey conducted by Anti-Defamation League, it was estimated that almost 65 percent of the players and users of the online gaming has experienced harassment of some kind by other players. Since, there is no direct contact, the harassment is usually threats about the physical violence, racism, sexual harassment and doxing. Apart from the physical and sexual harassment, racism is quite common, almost 9% of the users have reported that they have experienced discussions about the holocaust and around 23% of these gamers have reported that they have been exposed to white supremacy in chat rooms attached to these online games.
Apart from how often gamers were exposed to the harassment during games, there was seen a specific pattern which exposed that there are certain games that were considered hothouses for these discussion and gamers playing these games were more likely to be harassed. the most notorious of these games is Dota 2, where 79% of the players have reported severe harassment. The second most notorious game in this list is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where 75% of the players have faced harassment.
The fact that there are patterns of harassment that are evident in this study is quite shocking. It was previously perceived that people with greater power are capable of harassment only, however, this study reveals that anyone and everyone is capable of harassment which only makes things worse. Despite all these harassment cases, the study also revealed that 88% of the users have reported that they had a positive experience while playing games, which includes making online friends, productive discussions, finding a common ground of interaction and sharing tips.
Read next: Tencent, Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Google: Which Companies Earn the Most Money From Games?
