{"id":152070,"date":"2019-07-26T19:36:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T11:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1797612\/"},"modified":"2019-07-26T19:36:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T11:36:17","slug":"study-two-thirds-of-online-gamers-experience-severe-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/07\/26\/study-two-thirds-of-online-gamers-experience-severe-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Two-Thirds of Online Gamers Experience \u2018Severe\u2019 Harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sixty-five percent of online gamers face threats, stalking, other “severe harassment” (via Olichel\/Pixabay)\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Nearly three-quarters of online multiplayer gamers have experienced some form of harassment, according to<\/a> the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Technology and Society.<\/span><\/p>\n

“At ADL, we see online multiplayer games as social platforms, and we need to fight hate on these platforms with the same seriousness of traditional social media,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a survey<\/a> of 1,045 PC, console, and mobile players, 53 percent reported being targeted based on their race, religion, ability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some people were also exposed to “extremist ideologies and hateful propaganda,” including discussions about white supremacy, Holocaust denial, and terror attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Multiplayer video games aren’t rocket science: Throw a bunch of people together in a high-intensity environment and you’re bound to have provocations.<\/span><\/p>\n

But that doesn’t excuse the behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Online hate causes real harm,” Greenblatt said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Every time someone in an online multiplayer game physically threatens or harasses another player repeatedly because of who they are or what they believe, that experience doesn’t just end for that individual when the game is over,” he continued, urging industry leaders and policymakers to take action against “this poisonous ecosystem.”<\/span><\/p>\n

ADL’s report includes recommended actions the game industry, government, and civil society should take to reduce hateful content and behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s not all doom and gloom, however, for the two-thirds of U.S. adults who play games online.<\/span><\/p>\n

The digital space of multiplayer games provides opportunities to connect with new people, build friendships and communities, and learn: 88 percent of ADL respondents have experienced some form of positive social interaction while playing online.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there is still plenty of room to grow and improve.<\/span><\/p>\n

More on Geek.com:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n