3MT finalist Houson Hu is transforming online gaming safety

The online gaming world continues to evolve, but how do you prioritise safety while gaming? Deakin graduate researcher and 3MT finalist, Houson Hu, explains.

As Houson Hu takes to the stage, a fantasy character appears on the screen behind him. The character – his avatar – carries a vicious looking bow, is shrouded in a silvery fog, and backed by a full moon and a flag with archaic symbols. It’s a true fantasy gaming character, but one thing about the scene has caused problems for Hu. His character is female.

‘This is my character from an online multiplayer game called Diablo III,’ he tells the audience.

‘Now, as you can see, the character was a woman which, in conjunction with the anonymous nature of online gaming, led some that I play with to believe I was a woman in person, which is relevant, as some time ago, a person I regularly game with sent me a series of sordid messages and sexual requests. It wasn't until years later that I realised that was sexual harassment.’

Hu is a student of the Deakin University PhD program, researching cyberbullying, gender and toxic behaviour in online games. The talk is part of Deakin’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which invites PhD candidates to present their thesis in the most concise, approachable way possible – by condensing it down to a three-minute presentation.

Online gaming and esports should be like any other sport or hobby – anyone should be able to join in without fear of harassment or bullying.

Online gaming already has a reputation for ‘trolling’ which refers to online posts or comments that are made to deliberately upset others. Hu’s research has found that the problem of online gaming harassment is more common among some groups than others.

‘I've since had the opportunity to conduct some research in this area in a systematic review that we conducted on cyberbullying in online gaming,’ Hu says.

'We found that women and gender diverse players are disproportionately affected by sexual harassment while gaming. That many suffer serious harms to their well-being, and some may even disengage from gaming entirely.'

One of the biggest problems Hu has found – in addition to the harassment itself – is that many online gaming communities seem apathetic and resistant to change in online gaming safety.

He titled his 3MT talk ‘It Is What It Is’ – an indictment on the dismissive view taken by many online gamers.

‘Above all, we learned that most gamers simply do not care,’ Hu says. ‘A sense of callousness and helplessness permeates the community, as we resign ourselves to the phrase, it is what it is.’

This apathy or lack of concern makes it hard to find a solution to the problem of online gaming safety and cyberbullying. According to Hu, there’s a massive disconnect between gamers and researchers on what the problem is and how to address it.

‘What researchers define as cyberbullying, gamers see us harmless banter,’ Hu says. ‘Meanwhile, toxic behaviours actually experienced by gamers, we don't quite capture using valid measurement tools, leading to prevention programs that are ineffective and, in some cases, entirely unnecessary.’

So, what can we do to prevent cyberbullying and increase online gaming safety?

This is where Hu’s PhD research becomes so important. He’s hoping to bridge the gap between researchers and online gamers, finding a solution that works for both sides.

‘We are currently looking at commonalities in cyberbullying victim disclosure on online gaming forums,’ Hu says. ‘And in doing so, we hope to better identify the kind of harassment that gamers actually face on a day-to-day basis.’

With a deeper level of understanding, Hu's research will ideally lead to programs that effectively prevent cyberbullying and harassment and promote safety in online gaming. Especially for those already-marginalised groups, such as female gamers.

‘Ultimately, [we would like to] develop bullying prevention programs that are community grounded, effective, and may be implemented by regulatory bodies and gaming platforms to better protect gamers online,’ Hu says.

We can see from Hu's research that the online gaming community has a problem with cyberbullying and harassing groups like women.

As Hu suggests, though, the issues aren’t always openly discussed, and some don’t see or acknowledge the issue at all, which can make it difficult to find a path forward.

By offering a platform to share his research, 3MT can help researchers like Houson Hu bring these issues to a wider audience and, ideally, work toward real change. And, with the potential to win $3000 for the best 3MT presentation, the competition also offers another incentive for PhD candidates to keep doing vital research.

Hopefully, with the hard work of Houson Hu, one day the negative phrase ‘it is what it is’ will be irrelevant to the industry, and online gaming safety will be a top priority.

Interested in investigating important issues like cyberbullying? Explore your PhD options at Deakin.