Colorful personalities populate the online gaming world. Unless you play with friends, you don’t know who you’re playing with. As an avid gamer, sometimes it’s difficult to have fun because of other players. I’m not talking about getting repeatedly killed by players, I’m referring to how I’ve never seen such high toxicity from people in a setting quite like online gaming.
Why exactly do people act out in the gaming community? The answer is because they’re given a level of anonymity. They drop their facade when they’re under a username.
Communication is a humongous aspect of it. Most games have text/voice chat, and forums like their designated Steam Community page. As a minority, I have dealt with discrimination. However, I’ve heard more offensive slander online in gaming than I’ve ever received from bigots in reality.
That’s my first point: people say horrible things in the digital world because they know in reality, should they say them in public, they’ll either get their jaw broken or get arrested.
Sometimes, people seem to do it just because. There isn’t a reason to interact so horrendously anywhere. Regardless of its content, some chaos you’ll hear is unpredictably random.
A disturbing incident I painfully witnessed was on July 30th, 2024 in a game of “Team Fortress 2” where one of my teammates degraded himself through text chat until we voted him out of the match and reported him.
First, he mentioned inappropriate subjects like his experience with sex toys. Afterward, called someone the N-word, and said consecutively graphic messages until he was kicked. However, getting muted, kicked, or banned doesn’t seem like fitting punishments. Someone could easily just make another account and start over.
On the other hand, there are players that take games too seriously and get angry, or “ragers.” Sure, games can be irritating but remember: no matter if you’re in a casual match or a ranked match, it’s just a game. Unfortunately, everyone I’ve said this to told me phrases such as “Go f**k yourself.”
Ragers spout anything to release their frustration. Look no further than when PewDiePie called someone the N-word while livestreaming a game of “PUBG” because he couldn’t kill an enemy player. He received backlash, and during his apology, his reasoning as to why was simply because he “said the worst word (he) could possibly think of.” That seems very relevant to a lot of other gamers.
Ragers worsen when they start yelling, which does affect reality, as it can disrupt neighbors. During my junior year at ABAC, I endured the wrath of a rager through my dorm ceiling. I don’t think getting mad over “Squid Game” on “ROBLOX” is a valid reason to interrupt my studying.
It definitely doesn’t excuse threats or times when people took things into their own hands.
In 2010, a man in France named Julien Barreaux was playing “Counter Strike” and was killed in a knife-fight. He got so angry that he took seven months to track down the player who killed him and stabbed him on his doorstep.
Other situations like these have occurred, but why? It’s just a game.
Trolling also roots in toxicity, which is more annoying than offensive and doesn’t require communication. Everybody likes good pranks, but there’s a line between being funny and overkill. It occurs because, again, there’s anonymity and no real consequences.
The incomparable level of toxicity seen in online games is what results from a lack of oversight and punishment. You don’t know these people, and they don’t know each other. There’s ample leeway for heinous behavior to ensue, but there’s no good reason that it should.