Newswise — It’s one of the fastest growing industries globally, raking in millions for the best players and attracting a huge fanbase, but a new Australian study has revealed the dark side of professional video gaming: cyberbullying and sexual harassment. Even though the esports industry is a diverse community, cyberbullying is rampant in this virtual world, and cis-gendered and trans-gendered women players are disproportionately more likely to be sexually harassed than men. Despite women making up 46% of the world’s three billion video gamer players , according to a new paper published in Entertainment Computing, women who play professionally (16% of esports competitors and content creators) are the most vulnerable to cyberbullying and sexual harassment.
University of South Australia (UniSA) psychology PhD candidate Louise Trudgett-Klose and Dr Sarven McLinton authored the paper, surveying 145 videogame players from 14 countries, 96% of whom said they had been cyberbullied in the previous 12 months. Almost half of the bullying (49%) came from co-workers (other players) and the other half from the public. “There was a definite link between the level of professional gaming and the incidence of cyber bullying, and sexual harassment for women players,” says Trudgett-Klose.
“The more professional a player becomes, the more they are exposed to hostile behaviour, which affects their mental health.” Cyberbullying involves name calling, derogatory comments, excluding sp.
