As other classmates mentioned in the blog, verbal aggressiveness in online gaming is a reality (Scheffer, 7 May 2025) and gender is a key factor in cyberbullying (Maria, 18 March 2025). For some reason, it seems that the online context, specially that of video games, brings out a dark side of people.
With the aim of further exploring this subject, I bring you a post commenting an article on the matter, “VIDEOJUEGOS ONLINE: ESCENARIOS DE INTERACCIÓN Y EXPERIENCIAS DE VIOLENCIA EN MUJERES GAMERS” by Arroyo and Esteban (2022). If you are interested on the topic, I recommend that you check Esteban's work.
This study aims to expand the knowledge of experiences of women who play online multiplayer video games (VMO) and investigate if there are situations of violence and harassment due to gender. A questionary and interviews were used.
From the 454 women who answered the questionary, 141 (68,11%) had played VMO. These women were asked about how they presented their identities online, that is, if they said they were women openly while playing. Almost half of them said they always did (43,3%) if we add that up with the ones who did in many games (9,9%) it is more than half participants. But one third said they did just in some games (12,1%) or few times (15,6%). Almost 15% said they never say their gender. That means almost half the women have hidden their gender while playing online at least one time.
Regarding violence, the participants were asked if they suffered or knew someone who suffered violence during an online multiplayer game. More than half answered not having suffered it and not knowing anyone who did (54,6%). The other answers were: I had online violence experiences in some occasion (5,7%), in various occasions (21,3%) or I did not, but I know someone who did suffer violence during a VMO (18,4%).
When asked if they stopped playing a specific VMO because of suffering violence during a game, 55,3% indicated they did not abandon; 39% did, and 5,2% were not sure if they would. That means the victims are the ones who end up leaving the game, a game that they enjoy. It is similar than stop going out with your friends because of man making you feel uncomfortable and in danger. The victim is the one who has to cut their freedom in order to be safe and preserve their wellbeing.
General opinion about report systems in VMO was negative, of the ones who used it 63% were not satisfied, while 24% were, the other did not answer.
A semi structured interview was used to identify which VMOs women use, further analyse the context of the violence, personal impact and measures companies put in place. The paper puts real pieces of the interview for us to read, which I recommend checking if you want to understand their experiences more deeply.
And why is that relevant to bullying? Online gaming is a part of kids and teens social life today. If these spaces are hostile towards people in general, and women in particular, it influences players perceptions, behaviours, and beliefs. Some of the kids that play VMO do it with their friends in “real life” who can also be their classmates, that means the violent context can end up affecting those relations. And by that affecting bullying behaviour. And this is one of the online context where cyberbullying can occur, so we should know more about it.
In future studies, it would be interesting to ask about violence by game. As some communities are known to be more problematic, for example the game League of Legends is known for their gamers being toxic and disrespectful. This could mean these behaviours are more prevalent in some games than others. And we could look into the characteristics of each game to see if some of them make people more prone to be aggressive to others.
The YouTuber “Spawntaneous” in her series “OMG a Girl” makes compilations on what she has to del with while playing online. The videos go from 7 years to 3 months old today. Here is the link to the series (TRIGGER WARNING it is hard to watch, there are insults and threats):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL0aVqVslSE&list=PLEDsO12Ccv9ES1Qlnwu_Gi72udJyhVXyZ
ARROYO LÓPEZ, C. É. S. A. R., & ESTEBAN RAMIRO, B. E. A. T. R. I. Z. (2022). VIDEOJUEGOS ONLINE: ESCENARIOS DE INTERACCIÓN Y EXPERIENCIAS DE VIOLENCIA EN MUJERES GAMERS. Human Review, 14(3).
-Àgata Geronès Roca
After reading Àgata's post, I think harassment in online gaming reveals a troubling environment, and when viewed through the lens of children’s experiences, the implications become even more concerning. Online games, often marketed as fun and social spaces, can expose children—especially girls—to harmful behaviors such as gender-based harassment and verbal abuse.
ReplyDeleteChildren are at a critical stage of identity development, and repeated exposure to toxic online interactions can negatively affect their self-esteem, emotional well-being, and willingness to participate in digital spaces. The fact that many feel compelled to hide their identity to avoid mistreatment points to a failure in safeguarding young users.
As a future investigations I totally agree with the ideas aported by Àgata to turn online gaming a positive and empowering experience for all young players.