The toxicity of our (Sim) Cities: Prevalence of dark participation in games and perceived effectiveness of reporting tools

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

1-1-2022

Abstract

Dark participation in games (i.e., trolling and toxic behavior) have been gaining ever-increasing academic attention as a negative aspect of online gaming. Much of the literature in this area has focused on the personality and identity of the perpetrators, but this has been largely outside of the gaming context. The present study aims to explore the prevalence rates of dark participation in the online gaming community, the reporting function to punish deviant players, and the importance of dual identities (troll and gamer) in the perpetration of deviant in-game behaviors. Our results indicated that nearly all players in our sample had been victims of dark participation or witnessed in-game victimization, suggesting that it is a major problem in the community, but that many players also use the reporting function. Troll identity was predictive of these behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Identifier

85141136398 (Scopus)

ISBN

[9780998133157]

Publication Title

Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

ISSN

15301605

First Page

3180

Last Page

3189

Volume

2022-January

Grant

1841354

Fund Ref

National Science Foundation

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