A study carried out by an anti-bullying charity found that 57% of the young people it surveyed had experienced bullying online when playing games.
In addition, 22% said they had stopped playing a game as a result.
Ditch the Label surveyed around 2,500 young members of the virtual hotel platform Habbo, aged between 12 and 25.
One 16-year-old gamer, Bailey Mitchell, told the BBC he had experienced bullying while playing online games since the age of 10.
"If you're going to school every day and you're being bullied in school you want to go home to your computer to escape," he said.
"So if you're getting more abuse thrown at you it's going to put you off doing anything social - it has for a lot of people I know, me included.
"It's regular, every other game you're in, there's always someone who has a mic or types in chat. They'll call you some random abusive thing they can think of."
Indeed, young gamers should stop bullying old people in online games.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Friday June 02 2017, @02:08PM (4 children)
As suggested above, just mute someone you don't want to hear from. What, you think he's going to reach through the intartubes and blacken your eye? Grow a pair. FFS, if you can't cope with a little pretend life in game, how in the HELL are you going to deal with real life? Pantywaist. Milksop. Candyass. Keep crying, I have a canoe.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Rivenaleem on Friday June 02 2017, @02:22PM (1 child)
In a world where doxxing exists, the threat of someone 'reaching through the intertubes to blacken your eye' is often possible, if people put too much information about themselves in their online profile.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday June 02 2017, @02:43PM
Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this!
Doctor: Don't do that.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by driven on Friday June 02 2017, @03:57PM
Sure the mute button works fine when there's only one dickhead to block there's an endless supply of dickheads out there on the Internet.
Also I think telling a ten-year old they need to grow a pair is ridiculous - no child should have to endure bullying. Eventually we learn to toughen up but it takes time to develop that maturity and perspective of the world to see bullying for what it really is.
Bullying should not be tolerated online or in real life under any circumstances. I would support any company that bans repeat offenders.
I say repeat offenders because sometimes the bullies don't realize what they're doing and need to develop their own maturity and realize the damage they are doing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 02 2017, @04:04PM
Its called addressing cultural problems with education and outreach programs. Humanity has massively changed its cultural patterns over the years, I think its about time we addressed the nasty gamer talk and let the fuckwads know their behavior is not welcome. Of course they can still do so, but as the culture shifts those fuckwads will be less welcome. Thus they will adjust their behavior, or they can yell their bullshit to a room of people that have them muted.
Is someone proposing legislation to fine online bullys? No? Get with the times little snowflake.