Empathy in Video Games: The Remedy for Toxicity in the Video Gaming Community
Toxicity in the Gaming Community Screenshot of the Xbox reputation system.
It is not hard to find issues within the gaming community across all platforms. Companies now have to invest quite a bit of time into reputation systems like Xbox’s pictured above. There is progress to be made in that field though and players are still exposed to toxicity on a daily basis. Online gaming grants players a degree of anonymity and with that comes less reserved behaviors. There have been and continue to be massive issues with toxicity among players. Video Games have been long been stigmatized for propagating violence and desensitizing players to the world around them and it is
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Whereas apathy, described as the lack thereof, is fundamentally dangerous. The over encompassing definition of empathy is the experience of understanding another person's condition from their perspective and apathy is a lack of this ability or lack of enthusiasm or concern for others. As it pertains to the gaming community as a whole, there lies a severe disconnect between players. Often with online games, harassment, cat calling, sexist and racist remark slinging is commonplace. Schadenfreude, the opposite response to empathy that involves feeling pleasure at the sight of another’s misfortune, is common in the world of online competitive gaming where tensions tend to run high. If more players effectively build their empathy skills by playing a balance of empathy provoking games and other means, the frequency of players, es throwing out racial slurs and demeaning gestures in the various multiplayer platform lobbies could begin to …show more content…
Since they provide “safe” environments to be exposed to certain subject matter that would otherwise be inaccessible, they are able to expose individuals to a variety of people, mindsets, and experiences. Rage-quitting, BM’ing (showing disrespect towards another player in an online game), and an overall sour distaste towards other players are all but common within the gaming community. As both the aforementioned studies show, gamers who strike a balance between violent games and more neutral/empathetic games have a comparatively higher capacity for empathy because they actively build on their empathy skills with the games they play. Variation in the gaming library seems to be key in avoiding further apathy
The theme in both The Hunger Games and in Ender’s Game is empathy, the ability to be able to understand and connect with others. Katniss has to learn that in order to be the leader she is destined to be, she must be capable of having intimate relationships and gain the ability to trust others. Ender uses empathy to understand his enemy, and uses it to become the commander he is meant to be. However, in his journey to becoming that commander, he has to learn that he is more than just a smarter Peter, that his Valentine side is stronger. Both Katniss and Ender are natural born killers. We see this in Katniss as she is growing up and trying to provide for her family. Her ability to hunt and kill for her family’s food is impeccable. Ender grows
Now a day every video game has something violent going on. Such as in 2010 the top 20 games out in the market were violent related. When a kid sees in a video game that he can beat someone else up and get away with it they think they can do that in real life. This will increase bullying and kids are being taught not to bully. Every kid plays video games even if it’s a racing game or a shooting game. In 2008, 97% of kids from the age of 12-17 played video games. Most M rated games have sexual violence and when a kid sees that in a game and then beats the girl up. The crime rate for rape will increase as it has. A study in 2009 found that it only takes a child four minutes of playing a game to make him have aggressive and violent thoughts going through his head. The critics of violent video game has that bully has increase 32% because of violent video games. Also in the study when a child sees blood when beating up or killing someone in a game he will have more aggressive thoughts than normal.
“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” –Meryl Streep Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This particular skill requires one to walk around in someone else’s shoes. It is a very valuable emotional skill that develops in many characters during the course of the novel. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, empathy is consistently present whether it’s Atticus being empathetic, Atticus teaching the kids to empathize or them empathizing themselves in certain situations.
People have always been looking for a reason why horrible things happen. The media is quick to blame video games as the target and cause of many shootings that have occurred, ever since the Columbine and Quake. People have been blaming video games for violence for years now, ever since violent video games have been made. News reports blame video games more and more for each shooting, telling the public how this person played video games for x amount of hours a day, and that video games caused him or her to shoot people, and how video games encourage and reward violence. Anti-video game lobbyists have been campaigning to have violence removed from video games, citing resources that they themselves have created as reasons for such, poorly done studies where they confirm that kids are more aggressive through how much hot sauce they put on someone’s fries.
Empathy is used to create change in the world by reaching out to the emotions of people and attending to them. It is used to help others learn and decide on matters that would not be reasonable without feelings attached to them. Empathy helps bring together communities that would have long ago drifted apart, but instead welcomed all who were different. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This attribute of human-beings really allows us to not only attend to situations as if they were our own, but it allows us to feel most of what others feel because humans are very much alike in some ways. In many of the articles and novels that we have read this quarter, characters from different pieces of context have portrayed empathy whether it was toward
Not every video game causes post game aggression, but documented in his article, “Players who enacted in-game violence through a heroic character exhibited less postgame aggression than players who enacted comparable levels of in-game violence through an antiheroic character” (Sauer 205). As a graduate of Radboud University, Isabela Granic brings to light the reasons why the youth actually benefit from playing violent video games. For example, in her article, “The Benefits of Playing Video Games,” Granic illustrates the fact that children gain social skills, highly efficient motor skills, and the understanding of the human body as a whole. Noted by the author, “Whereas adolescents and adults often use self-disclosure and direct discussion with close friends to resolve emotional issues, children use play to work them out through pretend-based narratives enacted either alone or with others” (Granic 67).
Owing to the direct exposure of malicious video games, there's a diminished level of empathy and pro-social behaviour in children. Prior to this, Most young perpetrators, develop repugnant personality traits, such as aggression and impulsiveness which are apparent when predisposed to violence. For instance, gamers are often rewarded through money or points rather than being penalised for shooting prostitutes and bombing cars. Consequently, this may encourage malevolent activity in the real world. As Dr. Phil agreed that “instead of soothing themselves or even expressing anger emotionally, they tend to externalise it” Notably, spending a vast amount of time on GTAV leads to desensitisation to belligerent behaviour which can escalate into
Although video games have been around for many years, the fun seeming activities are enveloped in controversy. First person shooter games tend to give players the same visual perspective as the character in the game and award points for aggressive behavior, which some people see as an act of encouraging aggression. While there is always the chance of making new friends over public chats in video games, there is also the chance of encountering cyber bullying, which can be hard to handle as time goes on. Video games some sometimes used as a way for someone to escape what is going on around them, sometimes even making the player lose track of time spent playing and like any electronic device with a bright screen, video games can cause sleep loss
There are many controversies about video-games that vary from the idea that they lead to violence due to the graphic nature of some video-games, they are addictive, or they promote laziness and corpulence rather than going outside to be active. Contrary to belief there are many family friendly, educational, and fun games available if a person takes the time to look past all of the hype in the media about games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. “Nearly 60 percent of the almost 1,700 ratings we assigned last year were E for Everyone, which means there’s a huge selection of games available that are appropriate for all ages,” says the ESRB’s Patricia Vance. If parents would take the time to pay attention to what games their kids are playing, then there would not be such a large controversy over this topic. It is a parents job to know their kids maturity level and be able to tell if their child is capable of handling certain games without taking the games to the literal level. If a parent disagrees with the content of a video-game, then they have the right to tell their kids that they are not allowed to play it. Despite the skepticism that is passed around about the “violence and mature content” in many video-games, there are many benefits that come from them. They have been proven by many studies to stimulate education, increase brain function, and improve motor skills. They have been shown to provide relief to mental pain and depression by creating a distraction from the issues weighing on a persons mind. Not only can they provide mental pain relief, some instances have shown that they can provide relief to people with a chronic illness or constant physical pain. Video-games have been shown to encourage social skills and int...
Although video game interaction is boundless, gaming can't be referred to as the new way of socializing because it revolves around on the game itself. In the video game community, a player is assumed to have a neutral identity. Even though social interactions are present in MMORPG's, these interactions are not about the individual's traits, emotions, memories, or other personal characteristics; it is all about the game and the environment that surrounds it.
The second reason video games are an issue is that videogames have been linked to a variety of mental and physical ailments. The most common physical health problems tend to be arthritis from barely moving the fingers while using a keyboard or game controller, and a variety of eye problems due to constantly staring at the game screen. The most frequently occurring mental problems range from delusions to schizophrenia and becoming desensitized to violence. Keegan says that "repeated exposure to violent images can make people less sensitive to the effects of violence" (1). All of these ailments, both mental and physical, can and will occur in many people, but this statement only holds true if the player spends much of his or her free time playing video games. The essay “Violence and the Media: A Psychological Analysis,” shows how the number of hours spent watching a television program may be more influential than the nature of the program itself (Javier 4). While this statement refers ...
Empathy is the ‘capacity’ to share and understand another person’s ‘state of mind’ or their emotion. It is an experience of the outlook on emotions of another person being within themselves (Ioannides & Konstantikaki, 2008). There are two different types of empathy: affective empathy and cognitive empathy. Affective empathy is the capacity in which a person can respond to another person’s emotional state using the right type of emotion. On the other hand, cognitive empathy is a person’s capacity to understand what someone else is feeling. (Rogers, Dziobek, Hassenstab, Wolf & Convit, 2006). This essay will look at explaining how biology and individual differences help us to understand empathy as a complex, multi-dimensional trait.
Video games have come under fire recently. Many people claim the graphic violence and adult themes in the games have affected younger generations and caused many violent acts. Others claim that video games have contributed to obesity and a lack of communication skills. Both of these claims are most often an older generation's misunderstanding of today's youth and the overreaction of the media. Rarely does the mainstream media portray video games for what they really are, a new way for kids to interact and share meaningful experiences all without being in any danger. Video games have endless possibilities and should be thought of as tools to teach the youth rather than the cancer that ravages them. Although many people see video games as a problem, they are actually a positive force because they have infinite possibilities for good.
Various studies have shown that violent content in video games desensitizes players, particularly youngsters, to the real-world violence. once players become desensitized, they have a tendency to extend their aggression and reduce their sympathy. alternative researchers have indicated that taking part in video games among youngsters doesn't cause vital aggressive behavior since the magnitude of the result within the meta-analysis could also be associate degree outcome of publication bias. Despite pressure from society, several video games contain a substantial quantity of violence. Violent games ar seen to market feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and authorization among the players (Hagan, et al. 2002). However, Przybylski et al, carried a study on computer games and terminated that the will and pleasure for future play were joined to ability and also the expertise of autonomy within the video game, and not the extent of violence. completely different students have argued concerning the negative and positive effects of taking part in video games among youngsters. This analysis paper can discuss the asso...
The advantage of playing online games is that it allows people to communicate with numerous numbers of others from different cultural backgrounds and countries. In the game, a gamer may want to exchange his item with someone else. Therefore, he/she has to negotiate with others. Repetition of this negotiation can develop a gamer’s social skills. The disadvantage of online gaming is that spending most of your free time in front of a monitor will remove teenagers from their friends and society.