A Comparison of Victimization in Internet Chatrooms and Victimization in School
Abstract:
Bullying is not a phenomenon exclusive to the school environment. Pupils also become victims of verbal aggression (teasing, threats, insults, or harassment) in the context of internet chatrooms. The present study addresses the following questions: (1) How often does bullying occur in internet chatrooms? (2) Who are the victims of bullying in internet chatrooms? (3) What are the determinants of victimization in internet chatrooms? A total of 1700 pupils from various German secondary schools participated in the study. Results revealed a strong relationship between victimization in school and victimization in internet chatrooms; school victims are significantly more often chat victims. Furthermore, the predictors of chat and school victimization show both commonalities (gender, self-concept, child-parent relationship) and differences (social integration, popularity, and bullying behavior).
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=4&hid=124&sid=be376f1c-665b-4c19-b103-9e0b21a181a5%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=edselp&AN=S1864110509600036
Monday, 30 April 2012
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Gender Swapping and Socializing in Cyberspace: An Exploratory Study
ABSTRACT
"Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are one of the most interesting
innovations in the area of online computer gaming. Given the relative lack of research in
the area, the main aims of the study were to examine (a) the impact of online gaming (e.g.,
typical playing behavior) in the lives of online gamers, (b) the effect of online socializing in
the lives of gamers, and (c) why people engage in gender swapping. A self-selecting sample
of 119 online gamers ranging from 18 to 69 years of age (M 28.5 years) completed a questionnaire.
The results showed that just over one in five gamers (21%) said they preferred socializing
online to offline. Significantly more male gamers than female gamers said that they
found it easier to converse online than offline. It was also found that 57% of gamers had engaged
in gender swapping, and it is suggested that the online female persona has a number
of positive social attributes in a male-oriented environment".
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=13&hid=124&sid=1b0b06ac-05f9-4410-932d-5eb18a824671%40sessionmgr111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=buh&AN=29959758
I found this article (Quest) in which a number of people were asked to participate in certain MMORPG's with some surprising and interesting results to say the least...
(P1,male, age 32)
"Because you are in a different place in online worlds. You are free to do what you want".
(P70, male, age 25)
"I like games, always have. I like to socialize, always have. I get both in Everquest. I’m
good at games and not one woman I know in real life is. They think it is weird. So I get to play with people more like me in that way".
(P16, female, age 38)
From hearing and reading peoples responses to MMO's, I think it has become evident that these games provide a sense of freedom, yet ironically build this feeling of security. Obviously there has been a lot of problems with identity etc, but in retrospect, I believe that being part of an online community allows the user to be free from the outside world and build an environment of their own. Then, if they decide they don't want to be part of that community anymore, they can simply delete/cancel their account, as it's only virtual.
"Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are one of the most interesting
innovations in the area of online computer gaming. Given the relative lack of research in
the area, the main aims of the study were to examine (a) the impact of online gaming (e.g.,
typical playing behavior) in the lives of online gamers, (b) the effect of online socializing in
the lives of gamers, and (c) why people engage in gender swapping. A self-selecting sample
of 119 online gamers ranging from 18 to 69 years of age (M 28.5 years) completed a questionnaire.
The results showed that just over one in five gamers (21%) said they preferred socializing
online to offline. Significantly more male gamers than female gamers said that they
found it easier to converse online than offline. It was also found that 57% of gamers had engaged
in gender swapping, and it is suggested that the online female persona has a number
of positive social attributes in a male-oriented environment".
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=13&hid=124&sid=1b0b06ac-05f9-4410-932d-5eb18a824671%40sessionmgr111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=buh&AN=29959758
I found this article (Quest) in which a number of people were asked to participate in certain MMORPG's with some surprising and interesting results to say the least...
- 57% of gamers had engaged in gender swapping
- a large minority of gamers (47%) spent 210 minutes or more per playing session.
- Over two-thirds of gamers (68%) said that online gaming had a “stimulating” effect, where a stimulating effect was when online gaming had either a social, challenging, and/or interactive effect on gamers.
(P1,male, age 32)
"Because you are in a different place in online worlds. You are free to do what you want".
(P70, male, age 25)
"I like games, always have. I like to socialize, always have. I get both in Everquest. I’m
good at games and not one woman I know in real life is. They think it is weird. So I get to play with people more like me in that way".
(P16, female, age 38)
From hearing and reading peoples responses to MMO's, I think it has become evident that these games provide a sense of freedom, yet ironically build this feeling of security. Obviously there has been a lot of problems with identity etc, but in retrospect, I believe that being part of an online community allows the user to be free from the outside world and build an environment of their own. Then, if they decide they don't want to be part of that community anymore, they can simply delete/cancel their account, as it's only virtual.
Is World of Warcraft the future of online dating?
Recently, I touched on the subject of people forming relationships through games (Second Life) as they would any other networking site. Having done some research I have found good argument for why WoW is better than dating sites, such as eHarmony.
The New York Times did an article on two people that met through WoW and have since developed a strong relationship away from the computer screen. The 29-year-old female gamer explains...
'Multiplayer games encourage such alliances. The beginner’s guide to World of Warcraft notes that you can go it alone, "but by going it alone, you won’t be able to master some of the game’s tougher challenges, you will likely take longer to reach the endgame, and you won’t have access to the game’s most powerful magical treasures.” Ms. Pringle thinks that is analogous to love.'
I guess the advantage of playing a role-playing game, or any game, with someone you like is that there are things to do! In WoW for example there is always a scenery, a world to explore, which is some what a reality away from the text based dating sites. It allows the user to be who they want to be without the awkward tension of 'the first date' and can conclusively lead to something more.
You can view the full New York Time article here.
The New York Times did an article on two people that met through WoW and have since developed a strong relationship away from the computer screen. The 29-year-old female gamer explains...
'Multiplayer games encourage such alliances. The beginner’s guide to World of Warcraft notes that you can go it alone, "but by going it alone, you won’t be able to master some of the game’s tougher challenges, you will likely take longer to reach the endgame, and you won’t have access to the game’s most powerful magical treasures.” Ms. Pringle thinks that is analogous to love.'
I guess the advantage of playing a role-playing game, or any game, with someone you like is that there are things to do! In WoW for example there is always a scenery, a world to explore, which is some what a reality away from the text based dating sites. It allows the user to be who they want to be without the awkward tension of 'the first date' and can conclusively lead to something more.
You can view the full New York Time article here.
"Some couples have even had their avatars marry!"....
Gaming Addictions
It is believed by many, in particular gamers themselves, that online-gaming is as much as an addiction as drinking, gambling or smoking. After scouring the web, I have found a lot of stories of how people have gained weight, lost friends and have moved away from social activity.
Here is one of many arcticle's which tells the story of a University English Professor whose life was affected by World of Warcraft...
"All that tethered me to anything meaningful during this time was WoW, which I clung to for dear life,"
It's worrying to read about gamers whose addictions have basically become their reason for living. Having experienced a lifetime of gaming myself, I have never found one game have such an impact in my 'real life', although I have found that gaming is an easy way to pass time and would often play for 4-5 hours. In conclusion, should these games have restrictions on how long you are allowed to play for or when you are allowed to be logged on?
The following documentary gives a brief and accessible look at players engaging in online-gaming who tell the audience how WoW has affected them. (Notice, the demographic/representation of these gamers are very similar, i.e glasses, age, gender, etc)
"This has become such an issue in China, that the Chinese government have passed a law requiring Warcraft have an in-game timer that restricts the play time of its users!"
Here is one of many arcticle's which tells the story of a University English Professor whose life was affected by World of Warcraft...
"All that tethered me to anything meaningful during this time was WoW, which I clung to for dear life,"
It's worrying to read about gamers whose addictions have basically become their reason for living. Having experienced a lifetime of gaming myself, I have never found one game have such an impact in my 'real life', although I have found that gaming is an easy way to pass time and would often play for 4-5 hours. In conclusion, should these games have restrictions on how long you are allowed to play for or when you are allowed to be logged on?
The following documentary gives a brief and accessible look at players engaging in online-gaming who tell the audience how WoW has affected them. (Notice, the demographic/representation of these gamers are very similar, i.e glasses, age, gender, etc)
"This has become such an issue in China, that the Chinese government have passed a law requiring Warcraft have an in-game timer that restricts the play time of its users!"
Cyberbody as drag
I found this rather intriguing article that demonstrates the sexual desires or 'interface fantasy' users are enable to portray through virtual existence, in this case 'Second Life'. Linking to the theme of identity, Its become quite evident how a player could easily create an 'avatar' which does not reflect who they are in real life. This, in many cases, includes proposing a different gender to gain affection from another player.
Source
Abstract:
Drawing on the topological approach Jacques Lacan
developed late in his career, this paper explores the
relation between a user and an avatar interpreted as prosthetic,
so that an avatar is seen as a prosthetic consciousness
and unconscious, a user’s virtual ‘Self’. Lacan’s
topological concept of ‘extimacy’ that subverts the
opposition between the inside and outside is used in
support of such an interpretation. The 3-D virtual
world of Second Life is taken as an example to illustrate
the digital projection of a user’s gender identity. The
paper suggests that Second Life is application of attachable
genitals in addition to basic male and female avatar
patterns makes the virtual process of taking a gender
identity similar to real life sexuation. This interpretation
leads to a conclusion about the fixity of the ego in the
imaginary realm (a typical human feature, according
to Lacan) and challenges the main postulates of posthumanism.
The article conlcudes that Second Life does not make us 'less human' but demonstrates
the fixity of the ego in the imaginary is essential for the human subject.
Looking at the current control of social order online, I think that to some extent, representing yourself as a false avater/character could arguably lead to cyberbullying, as the perpentrator would almost have a virtual 'mask' to hide behind.
Source
Abstract:
Drawing on the topological approach Jacques Lacan
developed late in his career, this paper explores the
relation between a user and an avatar interpreted as prosthetic,
so that an avatar is seen as a prosthetic consciousness
and unconscious, a user’s virtual ‘Self’. Lacan’s
topological concept of ‘extimacy’ that subverts the
opposition between the inside and outside is used in
support of such an interpretation. The 3-D virtual
world of Second Life is taken as an example to illustrate
the digital projection of a user’s gender identity. The
paper suggests that Second Life is application of attachable
genitals in addition to basic male and female avatar
patterns makes the virtual process of taking a gender
identity similar to real life sexuation. This interpretation
leads to a conclusion about the fixity of the ego in the
imaginary realm (a typical human feature, according
to Lacan) and challenges the main postulates of posthumanism.
The article conlcudes that Second Life does not make us 'less human' but demonstrates
the fixity of the ego in the imaginary is essential for the human subject.
Looking at the current control of social order online, I think that to some extent, representing yourself as a false avater/character could arguably lead to cyberbullying, as the perpentrator would almost have a virtual 'mask' to hide behind.
Key Texts - Dave Wharton
Synthetic Worlds - Edward Castronova
This book has given me an insight into how the world of gaming has grown from being a simple pleasure to becoming an economical and political phenonemon over the past decade.
- (Star Wars Galaxies) Some characters are better than others: faster, better looking. They can be bought and sold, most often on eBay. As I write this, a Jedi type character from a fantasy based on Star Wars costs over $2000.
- Typical users spend 20-30 hours per week inside the fantasy. Power users spend every available moment. Some 20 percent of users in a recent survey claimed that their fantasy world was their 'real' place of residence!
- In Asia, people who have lost virtual items becasue of game-server insecurities and hacks have called the police and filed lawsuits. The police have made arrest; courts have heard cases; and plaintiffs have won.
I decided to study this having read Castronova's previous book. This text starts to uncover reasons for why the virtual world is becoming so popular that in the near future, our real world may start to model its institutions on games.
"Distinguishing reality from symbol is not free. In fact, bo act of cognitive processing is free. Processing is thinking, thinking requires mental resources, and therefore our processing of media is selective and incomplete. We cannot notice every detail in our environment. Moreover, we will not notice, understand, and retain media information according to how important it is judged to be by deeper motivational systems".
(p93)
I started looking through this book to find out the relationship between online communities and the real-world. The text presents strong views on the effects of cyberspace from different sources.
Here is an interesting quote I found on the 'evolving virtual world'...
"In the world of biology, changes in signaling behaviour may occur quite slowly, over evolutionary time. In the world of human interaction, changes can occur quite quickly. If excessive deception makes a signal lose meaning, it can be replaced by a more reliable assessment signal or the community may begin to punish deception".
(p54)
Friday, 27 April 2012
Victims of cyberbullying fight back in lawsuits
When researching into cyber-bullying I came across this news story about a young girl in Georgia, Alex Boston, who had a fake Facebook page set up of her by her classmates. The page suggested Alex smoked marijuana and spoke a made-up language called 'Retardish' as well as making frequent sexual references and posting a racist video. The creators arse also accused of posting derogatory messages about her.
However, when Alex and her parents reported the page to police and school officials, they told her there was not much they could do because the harassment occurred off campus.
I found this story really interesting as it shows just how little the schools can do about this type of online bullying. Once it is outside the walls of the school it makes it really hard for the children and the parents to do anything in order to stop it, which is why this young girls parents have gone to the length of filing a lawsuit against the offenders.
I was quite surprised to learn how little law is in place to help stop this type of abuse in some parts of the world, especially when fake Facebook pages and stuff are being set up - I'd have automatically assumed that cases like that would've been seen as stolen identity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)