The Social Side Of Gaming

Many people who don’t play video games see it as a very solitary hobby, one which is done alone. There is, however, an extremely large social aspect to a lot of the games we play today.

Online games have grown dramatically since the real take-off of online multiplayer is the early 2000s, to a point where majority of AAA games released today come with some form of multiplayer aspect. While multiplayer games are renowned for being a somewhat toxic environment, DOTA 2 is a great example of an alarmingly negative and toxic community, there are also games with incredibly wholesome and supportive communities.

The Negativity

Negativity in online gaming is very real and needs to be addressed, although it is nothing new to the gaming community at large. Those who have been playing games since the early 2000s, will surly remember the negativity that was present in old Call Of Duty Modern Warfare lobbies. Research has been done as to why this nature of negativity thrives in online environments and has mostly highlighted two root causes.

• Anonymity – Nothing online is truly anonymous, that said, most of the toxicity stems from a perceived anonymity. People are generally a lot faster to be negative and crude online, where they believe nobody can find them.
• Accepted behaviour – Negativity breeds negativity, this is nowhere more apparent than in online games. One toxic person can bring out the negativity in the people around them, setting a trend for what is acceptable and even the norm.

With perceived anonymity and being negative becoming a norm, even games with a younger fanbase like Fortnite are starting to suffer a growing trend of toxicity. On average, 75% of players report seeing some form of negativity like homophobia, sexism, or racism on a regular basis.

The Positivity

Video games have become somewhat famous for creating negative communities, but as all things in life, negativity seems to garner more attention than positivity. For every negative gaming community around, there is a positive and wholesome one, where gamers support and help each other. A lot of people have found lifelong friends and even love through online multiplayer games.

As much as negativity may be perceived as an acceptable behaviour online, positivity is contagious. It only takes a few positive people to change the face of a gaming community at large. Games like Minecraft and Stardew valley have notoriously positive and wholesome communities, on the less expected side of things Squad and Souls-Borne games also have very pleasant and helpful communities.

Overlap

When it comes to gaming communities and the gambling CA offers, there will always be some level of overlap. Negative people in positive communities and positive people in negative communities, there will be no complete escape from negativity online. As long as you keep a positive outlook and make an effort to not play with negative people, you will surely find a positive community for any game you play.