Problems with online gaming are many that can sometimes frustrate a player. I won’t talk about the connection issue or any such technical multiplayer gaming problem. The central focus of this topic is the gaming community. There are so many ethical Problems with online gaming that makes you want to give up playing it. Racial, Islamophobic, homophobic and other such ethical problems are common in chats. Random teammates can take it to the next level of inappropriateness. People make fun of others just because they don’t speak English. The discussion of political issues can lead to harsh outcomes.
Many players won’t use mic even when they have access to a mic. Some players just want to be rude which a problem in itself. Preying on social insecurities and the use of harsh words is pretty common. Some toxic players are just plain rude. Every major social problem is finding its way into the game chats. Gaming was supposed to be an escape from the problems of the real world. Now there are so many social problems with online gaming which makes it a reason for depression of some players.
[bctt tweet=”People play games to escape reality and be happy. No one plays games to experience negativity.” username=”PlayLudos”]
The Era of Single Player Games
Until 7th gen consoles, most of the games didn’t have any online mode. Perception regarding video games was different than how it is today. The industry wasn’t this big and the E-Sport wasn’t so phenomenal. The Internet wasn’t that common and many parts of the world. If you wanted to play a PVP or Co-op then you had to invite your friends to your home or go to their home. Your teammates and rivals were the people that you knew in real life. Most of the time your beliefs, race, skin color were the same. You were not coming into contact with toxicity unless your or your friends were toxic. The influence of your society was more on you than the influence of an unknown person. The influence of bad players was just the beginning of the Problems of online gaming.
Single-player games still keep you in a secluded environment. If you play a single-player game or a fighting game even now then it would function in the same way with the addition of online connectivity some times. Some games might have an online co-op option or an online PVP option. Others might have an online mode that offers a PVP experience. The point is that some game still offers the same experience.
Growth of Online Gaming
Online gaming started becoming insanely popular after 2005 when many players started to get a good internet connection. The player base of games was increasing each day as more people got access to a better internet connection. Social media and video sharing Platforms began dominating the internet. With the rise of the internet, online games started becoming the next big thing in gaming. After watching the rising popularity of online games, many developers and publishers began including multiplayer modes in their games. The boom of online games led to the development of always-online games. In the 8th gen consoles, online connectivity for devices was more common than ever before. Smartphones took this concept to the next level. The problems with online gaming were growing with the growth of multiplayer games. Now we are at the point where toxicity is common in online games.
[bctt tweet=”Toxicity in online games is a big problem for many and it can lead to more arguments.” username=”PlayLudos”]
Chat Is There For Communication
In any multiplayer game, communication is important. Without communication, players can’t tell their teammates about a danger. They won’t be able to tell their teammates about resources or any such thing. Even when players know that they are at a disadvantage they still won’t use a mic. Some players might not have a mic around so it’s ok not to talk but they will listen to what you have to say. They will follow the team and act as a valuable member of the team. However, some players won’t talk to you and they won’t work as a team. I just don’t understand, why they don’t play in solo modes if they don’t want to work in a team. Such players are mostly streamers that want to show their skills.
Problems with online gaming don’t stop with a lack of mic. Sometime players would have mic but they still won’t communicate. You can see their speaker blinking but they just won’t communicate no matter what you do. I would understand if it’s a woman because there is too much harassment. However, most of the time you can guess that it’s a man but they still won’t talk to you. When it comes to communication kids are the best. Though there are some spoiled and toxic kids. Most of the kids are fine because they are innocent after all. Adults make them both toxic and rude which is one of the basic problems with online games.
Battle Royale is Bringing out The Worse Kind of People
With the rise of battle royales, the toxicity of gaming has reached an all-time high. Part of the rise in such toxic behavior can be associated with the success of battle royale games. Since the release of PUBG on smartphones and other platforms, BRs have become an essential genre of PVP games. The release of popular BRs such as Fortnite and PUBG is making the matters worse. Communities of games like PUBG and Call of Duty Mobile are larger which include players from different regions. In random matchmaking, a faceoff between players of two different ideologies can happen. Such face-off or team members will sometimes taunt each other with racial, national, or other such slurs. Teammates would go as far as killing their own teammates due to a small argument.
Hate and Toxicity is Common In Online Games
Bashy behavior is not limited to mobile devices but it does happen a lot there compared to consoles or PC. Even in PC and consoles games, such behavior is not that uncommon. Some players would use islamophobic slurs just because of the name of a player. There religious bashing of different communities in online games is also common. Calling someone Fa***t or calling them gay or tr***y is not that uncommon. Racism is one of the biggest problems with online gaming which is fairly common. Players would call you by different names just because your nationality is different. They will go as far as calling an entire nation or race poor, stupid, or something else. Hearing the N-word is pretty common for people of African descent. Every console has hate speech and toxicity issue but none can compare it to PC and Mobile devices.
[bctt tweet=”Why do we even need to discuss a sensitive topic in games if it’s not even part of the game?” username=”PlayLudos”]
General Problems of Online Gaming
Problems with online gaming can cross the realm of ethics and reach cyberbullying or even cybercrime. For female gamers, harassment is not that uncommon because players can get away with it. It’s no different than cyberbullying and can result in trauma or even worse. Imagine giving rape threats to a female gamer that has already a victim of rape. Most female gamers, won’t communicate due to the fear of harassment. Female players communicate if the person is not being rude or staying in the realm of ethics.
Some players have a false sense of superiority that won’t let them work with the team. They won’t communicate or even if they do they would want you to follow them without listening to your opinion. If you don’t follow them and try to reason with them then they will either play solo or become toxic. While playing solo, if such a player dies then that player would leave the game without waiting for you to revive them. The penalty system is reducing the number of such players but it’s still not enough. In some games, your teammates can kill you for supplies and weapons.
The amount of bad players is not that high but they are enough to make a person give up. Some players would rarely encounter toxic players. There are so many good players compared to toxic players. They would help you level up in the game and even give you stuff. Some players might become real-life friends. All players are not bad even if they don’t use a mic. The toxic players are ruining the experience for everyone. The bad behavior of these players is reflected in the younger generation.
[bctt tweet=”Hearing N-word in online games is not that uncommon you can even find such words in chat rooms of games.” username=”PlayLudos”]
Why So Rude When You Can Be Friendly?
Studies have shown that the chances of violence in video games are higher for even a non-violent person. The game would put players in circumstances that would let their true selves out. In reality, such people are always violet but they never got a chance to show the violence. The behavior of a person in the virtual life of a video game is his/her real-life reflection. Problems with online gaming are related to the toxic people of the world.
If everything can be resolved peacefully then why do players have to be rude? There are so many options to resolve an issue peacefully rather than forcefully. In nearly all cases forceful resolution results in a harsh outcome. Why call someone the N-word if you can just say their name? Why use any racial phrases or words? It just doesn’t make sense unless you are racist. Why taunt someone with sexuality? It only makes sense if you are a homophobic or anti-LGBTQ+. Why discuss religion if it’s not part of the game? unless you are looking taunting. Problems with online gaming are the reflection of all the bad people playing them.
Verdict
There are too many problems with online gaming. The issues of online gaming are actually social issues that are making its way into every aspect of life. These issues are not new and they were part of the world for a long time. With the rise of the internet, the problems of everyday life were imported to everything related to the internet. Online gaming being part of the internet also became part of social issues. Not everyone playing in multiplayer lobbies is bad but they are enough to ruin a person’s day from time to time. The purpose of gaming is fun and enjoyment but toxic players are taking away the fun from it. Different developers doing little to reduce toxicity but it’s not making a significant difference. Next time when you meet a person in the game take their personality as the reflection of their true self.
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