There含羞草研究社檚 a persistent myth about video games 含羞草研究社� that they含羞草研究社檙e harmful and cause violent behaviour.
That含羞草研究社檚 wrong, says Sarah Stang.
含羞草研究社淕ame content does not cause real-world violence,含羞草研究社� says Stang, an assistant professor of game studies at Brock University.
含羞草研究社淲e have so many studies that have that no matter how many violent video games you play, that does not mean you含羞草研究社檙e going to be a violent person.含羞草研究社�
But toxicity and harassment persist in what Stang calls the 含羞草研究社渨orld含羞草研究社檚 biggest entertainment medium含羞草研究社� which, by some estimates, brings in four times the global box office revenue of the film industry.
The problem made news a decade ago in Gamergate 含羞草研究社� an online furor in which women and companies were targeted for supporting progressive ideals, like having more women represented in gaming含羞草研究社檚 traditionally male-dominated world.
Women reported threats of rape and death. Some were doxxed 含羞草研究社� having one含羞草研究社檚 identifying information, including home address, published with malicious intent.
There含羞草研究社檚 a continuum of toxicity in online communities, says MiaConsalvo of Concordia University in Montreal, the Canada Research Chair in digital games studies and design.
含羞草研究社淚t can be from the more banal and harmless, the trash talking, all the way up to threats of violence,含羞草研究社� she says.
The internet is where a large number of people go to hang out. 含羞草研究社淕ames are a huge part of that ecosystem,含羞草研究社� says Consalvo.
Government attention
Online toxicity is something society is worried about but not necessarily governments, Consalvo says.
It含羞草研究社檚 only when there are concerns about democracy or threats against people or government institutions that things become more serious, she says.
The Canadian government announced funding in March to study the 含羞草研究社減otential for radicalization to violence across gaming platforms.含羞草研究社� More than $317,000 is to go to the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, a think tank based in the United Kingdom.
The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, which falls under the federal Public Safety Department, provided the funding.
Brett Kubicek, research manager with the centre, says it was created in 2017 to lead Ottawa含羞草研究社檚 efforts on preventing and countering violent extremism.
Much of the government含羞草研究社檚 concern about the risk for radicalization through video games relates to what are called gaming-adjacent platforms, such as the messaging app Discord, the streaming platform Twitch and the digital distribution service Steam.
含羞草研究社淎 lot of this is about just going where people are,含羞草研究社� Kubicek says.
Canada can含羞草研究社檛 do it alone, adds the centre含羞草研究社檚 executive director, Robert Burley.
含羞草研究社淲e need to collaborate with other governments,含羞草研究社� he says, pointing to a summit held after the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, as an example.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 part of our engagement with the Christchurch Call to Action, with our allies in the G7 and the Five Eyes countries that we look not just at Canadian projects but projects internationally that are going to help advance this field.含羞草研究社�
Some experts suggest the Canadian government含羞草研究社檚 funding announcement is just playing catch-up.
含羞草研究社淪eems a little bit late,含羞草研究社� says Jennifer Jenson, a professor of digital languages, literacies and cultures at the University of British Columbia.
含羞草研究社淭he week of Gamergate, you would have thought that there would have been something that actually came out.含羞草研究社�
The project is not one of the Canada Centre含羞草研究社檚 bigger ones, Burley says, and it may lead to more.
Corporate measures
Games and gaming-adjacent platforms have content guidelines and measures in place to protect users, but rules can be bent or sidestepped. As technology has evolved, so have tactics used by hate groups and people looking to block them out.
Doxxing gained a lot of attention with Gamergate, Consalvo says, but many people have become more savvy about their internet use and may be less willing to share personal details.
With the increasing sophistication of content moderation systems, especially with artificial intelligence tools, some platforms have become less hospitable to hate groups. That含羞草研究社檚 led them to congregate in lesser-known but less restricted spaces.
Reddit, one of the most popular forums on the internet, employs what it calls a layered approach to content moderation.
A Reddit spokesperson says the platform uses automated tools, user reports and internal escalation processes to flag anything that violates its content policies.
For photos and videos, internal 含羞草研究社渉ashing含羞草研究社� technology creates a unique digital fingerprint, or hash, to prevent offending content from being shared again.
A spokesperson for Roblox pointed to blog posts from the company in early April about the importance of civility.
含羞草研究社淢any of our safety features and tools are based on innovative AI solutions that run alongside an expert team of thousands who are dedicated to safety,含羞草研究社� says a post from Roblox含羞草研究社檚 chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman.
The number of safety staff is tiny compared to the 71.5 million daily active users that Roblox says it had in the last three months of 2023.
Fortnite, the online game best known for its battle royale mode, introduced in late April an option for players to turn off their ability to see four emotes, or character actions, commonly considered toxic, including 含羞草研究社淭ake the L,含羞草研究社� or take the loss.
Solutions and responsibility
Kris Alexander, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who teaches video game design, espouses what he calls 含羞草研究社減ixels with purpose.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淵ou can be the change,含羞草研究社� he says. 含羞草研究社淵ou can counteract all this hate speech.含羞草研究社�
Some responsibility also lies with parents, he says.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 like you have a McDonald含羞草研究社檚 that含羞草研究社檚 open. These kids just keep coming. They keep taking their parents含羞草研究社� credit card and just keep eating McDonald含羞草研究社檚. We should close down all McDonald含羞草研究社檚?含羞草研究社�
Stang, the Brock University professor, says violence and hate are more about culture than they are about the medium.
Parents need to be aware of what their children are doing, what communities they含羞草研究社檙e part of, what they含羞草研究社檙e joining and who they含羞草研究社檙e talking to, she says.
When discussing online harassment, Alexander added, it含羞草研究社檚 important to ask which games and genres are affected, as well as which groups.
含羞草研究社淵ou talk to any player of 含羞草研究社楽tardew Valley含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社� talk to any 含羞草研究社楢nimal Crossing含羞草研究社� player. They含羞草研究社檒l be like, 含羞草研究社榃hat are you talking about? We含羞草研究社檙e building farms out here. We含羞草研究社檙e grabbing fruits and spoiled turnips.含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫
Stang says there have been improvements over the past decade.
含羞草研究社淚 teach in a game design program at Brock University and I can see the incoming cohorts are very 含羞草研究社榳oke,含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫 she says. 含羞草研究社淭hey含羞草研究社檙e attuned to questions of diversity and inclusivity and equity. They含羞草研究社檙e primed for discussions about representation.含羞草研究社�
She says they want to change the industry for the better because they love the medium.
含羞草研究社淚 think things are getting better,含羞草研究社� says Stang. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 just very slow.含羞草研究社�
Curtis Ng, The Canadian Press
