MARCH 15

01

CYBERBULLYING,
DEPRESSION, AND
GAMING
KAYLYNN CROMER
AERIN MITCHELL
 02

CYBERBULLYING
& HARASSMENT
 03

CYBERBULLYING
DEFINITION:

CYBERBULLYING IS WIDELY REFERRED TO AS THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR

THE PERPETRATION OF EITHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT AGGRESSION IN VARIOUS
FORMS .
(MCINROY & MISHNA, 2017)

SUCH FORMS INCLUDE (BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO) PHYSICAL, VERBAL,
PSYCHOLOGICAL, RELATIONAL, AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT. (MCINROY & MISHNA, 2017; MISHNA ET AL., 2016) .
FORMS OF HARASSMENT COMMON TYPES OF CYBER
HARASSMENT IN GAMING:

Physical:
a. in-game harassment (i.g. Griefing,
extreme looting)
b. Out-game harassment (doxing, swatting,
threatening physical violence)

Verbal: hate speech and excessive usage of foul

language directed towards targeted individuals

Psychological: engaging in manipulative

behavior in order to gain an advantage in-game

Sexual: unwelcomed sexual advancements and

other behaviors that target an individual based
on their sex (is inclusive of gender as well). (Pina et
al., 2009)

c. Includes sexist comments/jokes/insults,

unwanted advancements, rape jokes,
comments on appearance as well as
manipulation with intent to coerce one
into engaging in sexual conduct. (Fox & Tang, 2016)
 06
CAUSES & TRIGGERS
Top identified causes and triggers of cyberbullying (Cotler et. al, 2017)

CAUSES OF CYBERBULLYING: MOTIVATORS/TRIGGERS:

1. Online anonymity 1. Advancement/Personal gain (looting, grinding
2. Lack of accountability rank & exp)
a. There are no real-life effects on the 2. Provides an escape from pre-existing mental
perpetrator/ perpetrator doesn’t see illness and bullying.
effects on others 3. Identity
3. No fear of punishment 4. The victim does not conform to perceived
a. perpetrators do not care about bans or expectations of behavior based on identity
see no real-life consequences. 5. Player skill (either as a display of dominance /
high skill, the victim lacks skills or the victim
performs better than expected)
06

Victimization follows SDO theory (Socially Dominant

Outgroup Theory) (Fox & Tang, 2016).
— victims are commonly chosen based on their identity
(i.e. they are perceived as belonging to an outgroup)

Currently gaming is still described as an activity for

heterosexual males. (White, heterosexual males if you want
VICTIM
to add race to the equation.) (Tang et al., 2020; Shaw, 2012)
IDENTITY
Those perceived by perpetrators as not matching this
description are likely to become targets of harassment. (Fox &
Tang, 2016)

These outgroup members are perceived by the ingroup as

“outside and intrusive minorities”. (Tang et al., 2020)
DIFFERENCES IN HARASSMENT

While heterosexual perceived male

individuals are more likely to be
subjected to verbal or physical
harassment, female and LGBTQIA+
perceived individuals are more likely
to be subjected to sexually charged
harrassment in addition to the other
forms of harrassment (Ballard & Welch, 2017).
 DOES THE INDUSTRY CARE?

0 Games are commonly policed using in-game report systems.

8
Current attempts to correct community behavior have been monitarly based (to keep players
from leaving). (Fox & Tang, 2016)
The current consensus is that report systems are largely mismanaged / ignored.
 WORST GAMING COMMUNITIES
Rankings vary, but here are some of the big repeat offenders
LEAGUE OF PLAYERUNKNOWN'S WORLD OF
WARCRAFT DOTA 2 GTA ONLINE
LEGENDS BATTLEGROUNDS

ROCKET APEX
CALL OF DUTY LEAGUE FORTNITE LEGENDS
THE NEWCOMER

VALORANT
 DEVS CAN’T EVEN ENJOY THEIR OWN GAMES

12
 13

It is believed that the influence of

individuals who possess large
audiences (i.e. youtubers,
streamers, professional gamers)
SOLUTIONS?
may have an impact on harassment.

It is possible that strong condoning

of harassing or cyberbullying may
lead to a decrease in such
behaviors. (Tang et. al, 2020)
 14

OTHER IDEAS?
QUESTION: HOW ELSE CAN WE CUT DOWN ON
CYBERBULLYING?
15

MENTAL HEALTH
& GAMING
16

VIDEO GAME ADDICTION

In 2018, The World Health Organization created a new disease surrounding
Video Games Called Gaming Disorder or Video Game Addiction.

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DEFINES

GAMING DISORDER AS
“a pattern of gaming behavior (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) characterized
by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other
activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests
and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the
occurrence of negative consequences.”
 17
VIDEO GAME ADDICTION pt.2
Stats and Research

“In summary, the results from the current

study showed that video game addiction is
associated with depression, decreased
academic achievement, and with conduct
According to a 2020 article on the
problems, but it is not associated with heavy
Website Healthy Gamer:
episodic drinking.” (Brunborg, G. S., Mentzoni,
Video game addiction is very common.
et. al. 2014)
● 0.3 percent to 1 percent of the general population fit the criteria

for a video game addiction diagnosis in the US, UK, Canada, and

Germany.

● South Korea declared video game addiction a public health crisis

since more than 600,000 children struggle with it.

● 8.4 percent of children and teenagers are addicted to gaming, of

which, 11-12 percent are boys, and 6-7 percent are girls.
18

HOWEVER

VIDEO GAMES HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO

HELP FASTER THAN THEY HURT
19

HOW DO THEY HELP?

Since 2013 video games have been proven by research to do more
good than bad for people suffering from mental health issues.

Researchers watching casual players have

found time and time again over the last decade
plus that video games at a casual level can
help fight against depression and can be a
good source of physical activity
 Video games don’t create depression or anxiety. They have very little
20 effect on someone's mental health. It is the people who play the
video games that cause the depression and anxiety
Increasingly, it appears that fictional media have little impact on
youth well-being. The most consistent predictors of later mental
health symptoms are earlier mental health symptoms.
(Christopher J. Ferguson and C.K. John Wang 2021)

RESEARCH
Active games from the Wii system, Xbox Kinetic, PlayStation Move,
Nintendo Switch, and now the newly emerging VR systems help keep
everybody not just children active during the pandemic, when they
really need it most.

Active video games improved any aspects of health, mental (self-esteem),

physical activity and energy expenditure in children and adolescents, since
exergames offer a unique and exciting opportunity for positive effects on social
interaction and cooperation in this audience. (Santos, I. K. dos, Medeiros, R. C.
da S. C. de, et. al., 2021)
 1. Sea of Solitude (Electronic Arts)

10
2. Life is Strange (
3. Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
4. Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall/ Finji)
5. Pry (Tenderclaws)
6. Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe/ Chucklefish)
VIDEO GAMES THAT HELP & THEIR 7. Gris (Nomada Production / Devolver Digital)
8. Child of Light (Ubisoft)
DEVELOPERS/PUBLISHERS 9. The Last of Us (SONY Computer Entertainment/ Naughty
Dog)
Here is a list of games that either promote good mental 10. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames/
Bethesda)
health or shine a light on how the disease affects regular 11. Limbo (Playdead / Double Eleven)
people. 12. Persona 5 (Atlas & Atlas USA/ SEGA/ Deep Silver)
As always, there are more games than what is on 13. Dark Souls(Namco Bandi/ FromSoftware
this list and if possible you should try them out so 14. HellBlade: Senua’s Sacrfice (Ninja Theory)
15. Elude (Rock Interactive)
that more games about mental health could be
16. Depression Quest (The Quinnspiracy)
made.
17. Actual Sunlight (WZO Games Inc.)
18. Flower (Thatgamecompany, Bluepoint Games/
Annapunra Interactive, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
19. Sym (Atrax Games/ Mastertronic)
20. Aether (Armor Games)
NONPROFITS THAT WERE MADE TO CONNECT
MENTAL HEALTH & VIDEO GAMES
There are three non-profit organizations that I found that focus solely on developing games for and with mental health
patients in mind.
They are:
Orpheus Self Care Entertainment, IThrive Games Foundation, & Take This
 16

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
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