Despite claims that MMOs cause social isolation, they are actually third places that prevent loneliness and support people with mental health issues.

Abstract

Online gaming communities can have a beneficial and lasting effect on the mental health of those that may be socially inept or encumbered by loneliness. It is easier for to socially interact with others that have similar interests and hobbies, MMO communities is a platform that these people converge. Additionally, the online identity of the player introduces a layer of anonymity; which in turn increases the ease for beneficial organic social interaction to occur.

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Introduction

Communities amongst hobbies are extremely important to keeping people engaged with other people. This is the same for hobbies in the real world, and the virtual. As internet connections improved, it became possible to play multiplayer video games online with other people on a global scale. The genre Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO for short) has the ability for hundreds of players to play at the same time with each other was profound and exciting. Naturally, these players formed sub-communities filled with players of similar interests to play together with to complete their goals within the games. The identity of the player is driven by the appearance of their online character or ‘avatar’. Each players ‘avatar’ is a part of their identity, it could be an extension of their real identity or it could be something completely separate and unrelated to themselves outside the online world. The players online identity can be seen as a vessel for their loneliness and desire to belong. Organic social interaction occurs amongst peers in these MMO sub-communities, just like with non-online communities. This is all assisted with text chat channels and voice chat channels supplied both in game and out of game with free to use applications like discord. As a result, those that may be socially awkward can benefit greatly from the impact caused by natural social interactions. Despite claims that MMOs cause social isolation, they are actually third places that prevent loneliness and support people with mental health issues.

What are Massively Multiplayer Online Game Communities?

Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games have been an increasingly popular genre in the online games market for the last decade or so. Their popularity can be credited to the increase in accessible high-speed internet across the world. Out of all of the emerging MMO games from the last two decades there is one that is a clear favorite in the genre, and that is the famous World of Warcraft. The formation of groups amongst players is required to complete difficult quests and dungeons. The kingpin of the games communities is the difficult content. Without hard content existing, giving a reason for players to team up; the communities would not be thriving. These communities inside the game are often called a guild or a clan. A guild or a clan is a sub-community that is entirely made by players inside the game. Players with similar goals form together inside a guild to complete content. Some guilds have more casual goals like having the intention to complete simple and easy goals, some are the exact opposite with more hardcore goals which rewards higher rewards.

MMO game worlds are persistent, meaning that they are online and available for the players 24/7 (Wells, 2019). The player base is filled with different people, each individual will have different goals. Many will want to complete and play through all of the difficult dungeon experiences available. For those that may not care for completing dungeons may have the goal of being the best ‘black-smith’ or having the most gold out of all players. In the case of World of Warcraft, there are many achievements a player can do alone, but often the difficult and content with desirable rewards requires a group to work together towards the same end goal. This is how players naturally form guilds. The investment of time of playing with the same players is beneficial for all involved. World of Warcraft also supports a feature called ‘Find a Community’. Find a Community allows players to join or create communities outside of their guilds, it is proven to be very useful for players who may want to complete goals that is outside of their guilds scope. (Wells, 2019)

Identity

The anonymity that one has online can-do wonders for mental health, it acts as a layer of protection covering up insecurities of the players. The player is not represented by themselves in the MMO game worlds, they are represented by an ‘avatar’ that they create to their own likings. The player’s avatars are not simply themselves superimposed; they are custom created to potentially be nothing like themselves. The players do not have to be themselves inside the game; an extremely appealing factor for those that may not be completely comfortable with themselves in the real world. Whether that character be an embellished version of themselves, or something that is not even of this world like an elf; it becomes the persona of the player. Even when in a group of 40 people together inside of a dungeon, nobody knows who you are, your ethnicity, your gender, or your age; your personal identity is completely anonymous in the game. The players avatar is what represents the player through all experiences they encounter, whether that be gameplay or social by nature. It does not matter what the players avatar looks like, everyone else in the online world sees your online name, and they associate that to your avatar, not the player themselves. The level of immersion the player experiences is often directly impacted by their avatar (Milik, 2017). A part of the identity of the player is not just what your character looks like, factors like how they play and who they play with contribute to the players identity. If you are a skilled player, you are not seen as the same as majority of players, you are seen an elite player. The same goes for if you play with a guild that are known to be very good amongst the other communities; simply having the name associated with you changes how other players look at you, it impacts your identity (Bacchini, Angelis, Fanara, 2017).  The quote by Bacchini et al., (2017), “The online identity can be considered a sort of extension of the real identity and not an “other” identity.” Refers to how the way adolescents and young adults often use online identities. They treat their online identity as an extension of themselves as it the anonymity online makes it a much more comfortable way to express themselves. They often frown upon others that alter their identity to present themselves in a way to make themselves appear more ideal. Studies by Bacchini et al., (2017) prove that a player’s personal commitment and involvement in the online world positively impacts the players online identity formation process, which in turn; improves their mental health.

Social interactions

The players engagement in the MMO world is not only the time spent in-game playing. Many hours are also spent socially interacting with their ‘guild’ members and on discussion boards like forums/reddit. When an in-game activity requires a group to complete a task, the best way to coordinate a time that is suitable for everyone involved to get on, is through message boards or applications like discord that is accessible on both mobile and desktop. High levels of trust are introduced through shared experiences between those in a group. As trust levels  increase, anonymity starts to feel less required; as a result, bonds and friendships transcend the game world, and real friendships form. Increasing the comfort level of socially inept men and women ultimately benefits them not only in the game, but also their important social skills in the real-life. (Kaye, Kowert, Quinn, 2017) states, “the activity of online chat itself has been found to be related to increases in self-esteem and perceived social support, and reductions in loneliness and depression”. This supports that the ease of socially interacting with others increases once the player opens up and becomes more comfortable with the guild/clan. It additionally supports that it is beneficial for those that lack self-esteem and are affected by loneliness or depression. This can be credited to socially awkward people having an effortless time engaging in social interactions alongside others with confirmed similar interests with the intention of completing a goal in-game that benefits them with not only a reward in the virtual world, but additionally with experiences that assists one become increasingly more competent at social engagements in real-life. (Kaye et al., 2017)

Many people claim that MMO’s cause social isolation, but to the contrary; MMO games create situations that require social interactions. To some it may be very uncomfortable to socially interact in the real world; however, in the game world with their separate online identity it is much easier to be social. Those that are socially inept prefer to meet and hang out with friends online rather than out at the shops; this is due to feeling unsafe and less welcome in the real world, but safe while anonymous online (Lokša & Martončik, 2016). Anonymity is a significant factor that motivates people to communicate with others in an online environment like an MMO game. “The virtual environment allows people to express themselves in a way that would otherwise be unpleasant in real world (e.g. because of their appearance, sexuality, etc.), which makes social contact much easier and comfortable thanks to a certain degree of anonymity” by (Lokša & Martončik, 2016), puts it into words how the players visceral fear of social interactions can be lessened in the virtual world. Increased contact with others online in gameplay that requires social interactions conditions the player into being more comfortable in real-life social situations.

Fighting against loneliness

The core of fighting against loneliness is friendships. As friendships form, the feelings of needing to belong drift away. Lokša and Martončik’s (2016) study found that up to two thirds of gamers form strong lasting friendships with others they encounter in the game world. In the same study, it was additionally found that one third of the same group of gamers has met up with friends they have met online in real-life. The only case where one would feel safe dropping their anonymity and meeting someone they have never met or seen in real-life is when a strong bond has formed between the players. For a non-negligible number of players, the communities in Massively Multiplayer Online Games is everything. Lokša’s and Martončik’s found that many players ranked their online relationships and bonds equally to those they encounter in real-life. Groups of people relying on each other to get the job done in the virtual world; positively enforces the upsides of socially interacting with fellow community members, this in addition, reflects how real-life social interactions can be equally positive (Lokša & Martončik, 2016).

Communities on MMOs prevent loneliness and supports those that have mental health issues. Loneliness is an emotion that nobody wants to experience. Those that experience it will feel inclined to access online communities in MMO games due to the natural social interactions involved. Being surrounded by like-minded people makes it easy for one to open up and feel like they are welcome. Opening up makes it increasingly simpler to form friendships and talk with others. Being helpful, willing, or skillful opens one up to being a desired community member to be around; results in the feelings of loneliness subsiding. (Lokša & Martončik, 2016)

Conclusion

To conclude, communities formed amongst online MMO players are beneficial and enhance the experience in more ways than just gameplay. The potential improvements to the mental health of those that interact socially online in MMO communities are crucial for assisting socially inept humans. The goals of the players can change dramatically as the players team up and become more capable working as a team. This is only possible due to the social interactions involved in MMO games, one man cannot complete the team raid experiences, one man with another twenty can. This increases the engagement of the players significantly as it feels like they are important to the cause of the group. The social aspects of massively multiplayer online games are more important than the enjoyment of the gameplay itself for most involved. The increase in accessibility of the internet does nothing but aid the high diversity of the people one can meet and play with amidst online communities or guilds/clans. Anonymity for some people is the only reason they are able to feel comfortable while participating in social interactions which is possible over the internet only. The players online identity can either be a representation of themselves, or it can be the exact opposite. Players that are uncomfortable with their real-life identity are able to embellish their online persona as it is unrelated to the real-life. The communications of the players are supplemented positively by applications like discord that serve has a hub for text and voice channels accessible by anyone with a phone or computer. Negative feelings of loneliness can be offset heavily by becoming accepted in a guild or community. It is clear that these sub-communities benefit socially inept players by providing experiences that can be directly transferred to real-life interactions. ‘Guilds’ being full of like-minded people results in natural social interactions that benefits all involved, resulting in improved social skills and mental health.

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References

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Kaye, L. K., Kowert, R., Quinn, S. (2017). The role of social identity and online social capital on psychosocial outcomes in MMO players. Computers in Human Behaviour, 74, 215-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.030

Martončik, M., Lokša, J. (2016). Do World of Warcraft (MMORPG) players experience less loneliness and social anxiety in online world (virtual environment) than in real world (offline)?. Computers in Human Behaviour, 56, 127-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.035

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Wells, R, E. (2019). What is an MMO?. https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-an-mmo-4687003

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