May 31st 2017
Research carried out with young online gamers by anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label, has revealed that 57% of those surveyed had been victims of bullying online when playing games.
Other key findings include the following:
– 22% said they had stopped playing a game as a result
– 47% said they had been threatened in an online game.
– 38% said they had been hacked within a game.
– 74% said they would like the issue to be taken more seriously.
– 29% said bullying and trolling did not affect their enjoyment of online games.
Half of the survey’s respondents said they thought that human moderation would contribute to a reduction in bullying.
The research covered approximately 2,500 12 – 25-year-old members of Habbo – the virtual hotel platform.
A 16-year-old told the BBC that he had experienced bullying since the age of 10, including regular death threats. He now accepts it as an everyday occurrence, but at an earlier age he was led to wonder who were the perpetrators and what they were trying to achieve.
Liam Hackett, Chief Executive of Ditch the Label, had said that the charity is launching a global campaign to try to tackle the problem.
Ditch the Label and Habbo’s full report can be downloaded here: https://www.ditchthelabel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/InGameAbuse.pdf
