Think you’re safe in online games? Here’s who’s facing brutal harassment

What looks like friendly fun in online games is often a toxic battlefield where abuse runs rampant.

Disconcerting news has emerged from a study from Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH). Apparently, one in five gamers in Spain faces sexual victimization online when playing computer games.

Specific groups of women, LGBTQIA+ and older players get singled out more often, the study showed, and harassment isn’t usually a one-off incident, it’s part of the toxic landscape of modern gaming.

Damaging findings

The types of abuse were split into four main categories: sexual harassment, economic abuse, social violence (insults and hate speech) and problematic gaming behavior.

The study found that 20-30% of players face hate attacks based on race, gender, orientation of politics.

Mario Santisteban, professor of Criminal Law at UMH commented, “Toxicity and harmful behaviors are common in online gaming environments and affect a significant portion of players.”

It became apparent from the findings that more gaming hours meant more sharing of personal information, hence becoming a more obvious target for intimidation.

The psychological fallout and feedback loop

It’s often competitive games that put two teams in competition, that get gamers the most worked up.

Like in a school playground, harassment causes anxiety, low self-esteem, with victims often mirroring the abuse, in turn becoming toxic themselves.

A study from the same team in 2023 found that among League of Legends players, 70% of them had been exposed to some form of toxic behavior.

“Online games normalize disruption,” Santisteban said.

“Players stop reacting to insults because they become part of the background noise.”

Studies such as these represent a call to action from scholars to developers. They urge that anti-harassment tools must be improved.

And without real change, online gaming stays a toxic hellscape, especially for vulnerable players.