What solutions exist to bring equity to gaming and online communities?

Keith Stuart (Gamer communities: the positive side) offers a more optimistic view that emphasizes games ability to bring people together.

Recently on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, she talked about online communities feeding violent, angry people, which can sometimes lead to real violence. Here is a clip: https://youtu.be/0omjeOt-U6w?t=1m46s

What do you think about this connection? Are online communities and affinity spaces feeding hatred and violence?

In #Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures, Adrienne Massanari wrote about how online subcultures cultivate and feed on isolation and prejudice, spawning hate movements like #Gamergate and The Fappening, "toxic technocultures" that target specific people with harassment, threats, and violations of privacy. Have you experienced this?

Much can be said about issues of discrimination and abuse in the gaming world. As an educator I think listening is a good approach. Can you please share your experiences with discrimination related to games?

Another perspective on this issue is provided by Arthur Chu in his article Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds. Chu writes about people who develop a sense of objectification of others, connecting popular culture, media, and games to behavior. Is Chu just making excuses? What role does society play in the objectification, and even violation, of others?

While I do not think I would use a shooter game in an educational setting (especially these days), I see much learning potential in Fortnite: the strategizing, collecting, and building all practice valuable skills. And I have seen students, much like in the Hunger Games movies, team up to help a group survive instead of playing as individuals. That kind of collaboration extends benefits into the real world.

What kinds of benefits do you see from gaming?

I love the idea that in action game players are encouraged to "take your time." So much in digital culture is about instant gratification, games can be a way to actually get people to slow down, learn a new process, and connect with others in a new way.

Where else do you see examples of digital culture encouraging us to slow down and experience life?

I am a high school teacher and noticed that this game seemed to come out of nowhere and gain popularity very quickly. My students report that they like the "Hunger Games" style survival aspects of Fortnite. What have you heard about it?

As I read these tips (having never played Fortnite before) I am reminded of the strategies of a similar, yet extremely simplified, version of this game - Slither.io, which has very much the same objective and actions, but in a flat world of dots and snakes.

It kind of does. Have you played? What do you think?

So, a little real life connection?

I see the Hunger Games connection.

It is funny to see the press that this has generated, with article titles like "No, games didn’t just go mainstream," and "The Life of a Ninja: Drake, 'Fortnite' and Good Morals." Why is a celebrity playing a video game such a big deal?

This article lures readers in with promises for tips, but if you play the video first, what you get is a history and critique of the game. Around 2:34, the speaker brings up an interesting point about a friend only allowing her son to play the game if he speaks to other players in Spanish; what a great connection to learning, and a good bartering tool for parents (as a parent of a 13-year-old-video-game-loving-kid I am always on the lookout for kid collateral). The speaker goes on to say that video games are a "waste of time" (2:39), proving that she has not done her homework. Research scientists like Daphne Bavelier have done extensive work to prove the benefits of video games, including improvements in vision and tracking, spatial awareness, and switching tasks efficiently (to name a few).

Exactly, so why waste time and resources on this?

Does is sound like the ESA is trying to skirt the issue though?

That would be nice.

As an educator, I have to say that video games should be low on the list of priorities for school safety. What about actually making school buildings more secure and eliminating access to assault weapons? Those seem like more pressing concerns.

Daphne Bavelier, neuroscientist who studies video game's effects, should be in attendance as an expert in this field. See some of her work here: "Your Brain on Video Games" Ted Talk and Brain Plasticity Through the Life Span: Learning to Learn and Action Video Games

Why is this an immediate focus of the responses? Did the shooter have a history of video game use? A Google search does not find any solid connections, just opinions. And further research does not directly link video game play to violent actions.

I wonder what research will be looked at, or will public opinion be the only data analyzed?