A new study reveals that people who identify as “gamers” are more likely to exhibit “extreme behaviors” such as racism and sexism.
While toxicity and radicalization have long been associated with gaming culture, the the study, released last week by Take This, a non-profit mental health organization working with the gaming industry and community, showed just how easily “gamer” identity can take over a person’s life — and where that can lead.
“When the gamer identity is core to who you are as a person, that seems to reflect what we call toxic gamer culture, tends to reflect more exclusion than inclusion — so things like racism and sexism and misogyny,” research director Dr. Rachel Kowert told Vice Media.
“All these things that we know exist in gaming spaces seem to be internalized by those who very closely identify as being part of that community,” Kowert said.
In 2019, it was revealed by the Anti-Defamation League that one in ten young gamers between the ages of 13-17 had been exposed to white supremacist ideology. According to ADL research, far-right extremists use gaming communities as a hunting ground. Communities such as Steam and Discord are allegedly popular with white supremacists.
The Take This study, which examined the attitudes of more than 300 American video gamers, looked closely at the pros and cons of life inside these communities.
“Gamer communities represent a double-edged sword,” the study noted. “On the one hand, they may provide a sense of connection and purpose for individuals who suffer from loneliness and insecurity. On the other hand, they may expose gamers to hateful speech and social toxicity that can increase their susceptibility to extremist propaganda.”
“In the worst-case scenario, gamers may be lured into embracing extremist beliefs that lead them down the path to radicalization,” researchers continued.
The definition of a “gamer” has been the subject of a heated — and sometimes toxic — debate.
For some, the term applies to those who play video games on PCs, while for others it means people who play competitive multiplayer games.
Kowert says that issues begin rise when the “gamer” starts to merge their normal identity and their gamer one, a process called “identity fusion.”
“We have individual identities and social identities. So I am Rachel, I am a female, and I’m a gamer. I love ‘The Witcher’. These are my social identities and are separate,” said Kowert.
“Identity fusion is when the social identity, the individual identity, fuses together and you can’t tear them apart … The way in which fusion is shown to develop makes them more susceptible to more extreme behaviors,” she said.
The study found that players of “Call of Duty” were more likely to be racist and misogynistic than those who played “Minecraft”.
“This can vary across communities depending on what kind of people that you are spending a lot of your time with,” said Kowert. “I don’t think it’s necessarily about content but about the community in which you’re being immersed.”
Kowert also advised not to read too heavily into the study, saying that the topic of video games have long been sensationalized by the media and that she worries her research will be taken out of context.
“I think that games are wonderful places that have more positive things to offer than negative things across the board,” she said.