Toxic revelations: The hidden side of video game chats

Toxic revelations:

The hidden side of video game chats

Photo by Inaaya Omer

Kiana Hinkson, Staff Writer Kiana Hinkson

The ability to speak to people aids the engagement and content of online gaming, especially in first-person shooter games. However, many have voiced concerns about the safety of sharing information online, which tech companies have attempted to address. "Voice chat (VC) is much more real-time than typed chat. It's also much harder to understand the context. For example, robots have a ton of features to detect if someone is using a real address for stuff on typed chat. So we can prevent people from asking someone for their address or phone number," said "Roblox" VC software engineer Plamen Dragozov.

However, Dragozov said this technology has limitations. Machine censorship of language can have difficulty detecting harassment, such as racial slurs and misogynistic language.

Aragon junior Oliver Pacquet encountered this language during a game with his friends. "We were playing 'Rust' and before you die in that game, you get knocked down and have the chance to say stuff. We knocked down one kid who sounded pretty young, and he just started saying the n-word over and over and over again. It is really sad," Pacquet said.

According to Dragozov, the use of harmful language in a game environment varies with it's rating. "'Roblox' is rated PG. We cover all the requirements to be considered safe for children. In order to stay in that rating group, you're expected to take the right measures to protect children if they're not, then I would just feel unsafe," Martinez said.

The Pew Research study also found that large portions of online harassment are committed due to anonymity. "Usually people use inappropriate language because they think they're anonymous on the internet," Dragozov said.

According to Pacquet, harassment present in online gaming is exacerbated by a lack of reporting. "Some games are more responsive with the report feature. Usually, when I report people, they get banned or muted. The problem is that not many people report harassment," Pacquet said.

Although games can't make people report hate speech, it is currently the main tool used to regulate VC. "In the moment, context is very hard for machines to understand with VC. Since context is super important for evaluating harassment, reporting is the fastest way to get offensive language to moderators to evaluate and keep games safe." Dragozov said.

Many players are now promoting the importance of reporting toxic language. "The only thing people can do is call out bad behavior when they see it, which would make more people finally understand that saying that stuff isn't cool or funny, and hopefully stop saying it," Martinez said.

- like our real ID requirement to prove age above 13 for access," Dragozov said. "Rust" has a rating of 17+ from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Thus, they don't have systems like the real ID requirements in "Roblox," leaving underage users vulnerable. "For 'Roblox,' if you mix in the fact that it's a gaming platform with random people, you now have strangers who could be adults with inappropriate ideas," Dragozov said. Age is only one factor predisposing players to harassment within violent online game VCs — gender is another. A Pew Research Study found that 44% of internet users believe online gaming environments are more welcoming to men than women, 30% more than any other digital platform. "I never talk on voice chat," said Carlmont senior Alex Lumish. "People always get upset that they have a girl on their team and make jokes about how bad I am even if I am doing fine or they say worse."

The extremes she experienced in gaming are the stories that insight fear and caution in Carlmont junior Madeline Martinez. "Usually I try to just play with my friends to avoid that type of stuff. With my friends there, I'm not as scared to have someone yelling at me. If my friends are there, then they're always going to say something in a weird situation. Even if I just have their presence with me, it's okay. But

Art by Inaaya Omer & Andrew Tolu