Toxicity in Online Games: The Prevalence and Efficacy of Coping Strategies
Article No.: 959, Pages 1 - 12
Abstract
Toxicity is pervasive in online multiplayer games, exposing players to disruptive and harmful behaviours. Players employ various approaches to cope with exposure to toxicity; however, game designers and researchers lack guidance on how to implement coping support within games. In this paper, we first conduct a formative study to collect a comprehensive list of coping approaches from toxicity literature and use affinity mapping to identify overarching game-based coping strategies. Then, we report findings from a survey (n = 85) on players’ experiences with toxicity, how they employ the identified coping strategies, how games support coping, and their general coping styles. Our paper contributes a framework for coping strategies to deal with game-based toxicity and provides insights into the prevalence of these strategies among players and factors that affect their usage and effectiveness. These findings can be used to guide better in-game tools that help players mitigate the harm caused by toxicity.
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Index Terms
- Toxicity in Online Games: The Prevalence and Efficacy of Coping Strategies
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DOI:10.1145/3613904
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