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A new joint report from consumer research platform PickFu and AI moderation specialist Utopia Analytics reveals that 70% of online gamers have experienced or witnessed harassment while playing online games. Majority of abuse against women has been reported as misogynistic

Consumer research platform PickFu and AI-based moderation specialist Utopia Analytics have teamed up to publish a report based on insights from 1,000 US-based gamers, which exposes worrying state of online gaming in 2021.

The report, Playing Online Games in 2021: Toxicity, Misogyny, and Lack of Moderation, asked gamers to share their direct experiences of toxicity in online games. He revealed that 38% had been the direct target of abusive remarks from other players, and an additional 32% had witnessed abuse but had not experienced it themselves. In total, 70% of the players surveyed were negatively affected by the behavior of other players.

With levels of social media abuse and toxicity reaching rampant levels, game toxicity is still portrayed in mainstream media as something that only affects a minority of gamers playing FPS titles. ” hardcore ‘such as Counter strike Where Call of Duty. However, the experiences of gamers interviewed in this report suggest that online abuse is much more prevalent and that effective moderation of gaming communities and online gaming is sorely lacking.

The main findings include:

• Almost half (49%) of toxic behaviors towards respondents focused on their personal or perceived identity, including factors such as ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
• Of the 49%:
  • 37% said they had been verbally harassed in an online game specifically because of their gender
  • 31% had been harassed because of their ethnicity
  • 32% had experienced harassment because of their sexual orientation
• 30% of 489 women surveyed – almost one in three – said they had experienced abuse and toxicity while gambling online
  • Of these 30%, the majority (72%) said the abuse was misogynistic. By comparison, none of the men interviewed reported gender discrimination or abuse.
• MMO RPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) were the most toxic type of game according to our respondents. More than half said they had witnessed or experienced toxicity while playing these games.

“People look to gambling for their escape, assuming the virtual worlds they enter will be safe and fun. The reality, in the players’ own words, is that these negative interactions have a significant impact on their mental health and enjoyment of the game. This should be a wake-up call for the industry to make gambling a safe space for everyone, ”said John Li, co-founder of PickFu.

“With so many people looking to games to navigate a year of lockdowns and upheaval, there is a risk that many of these new players will be bitterly disappointed if we cannot do more to reduce the capacity of this toxic minority. to disrupt the pleasure of the majority and, as an industry, to take the issue of moderation much more seriously, ”said Dr Mari-Sanna Paukkeri, CEO of Utopia Analytics.

Using PickFu’s online platform, the survey collected feedback from 1,000 American adults between the ages of 18 and 74 who identify as gamers on consoles, PCs and mobile platforms. The survey collected responses from May 6, 2021 to June 5, 2021. The data was analyzed jointly by PickFu and Utopia Analytics

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