Toxicity in Online Games: The Prevalence and Efficacy of Coping Strategies

Abstract

Toxicity is pervasive in online multiplayer games, exposing players to disruptive and harmful behaviours. Players employ various approaches to cope with exposure to toxicity; however, game designers and researchers lack guidance on how to implement coping support within games. In this paper, we first conduct a formative study to collect a comprehensive list of coping approaches from toxicity literature and use affinity mapping to identify overarching game-based coping strategies. Then, we report findings from a survey (n = 85) on players’ experiences with toxicity, how they employ the identified coping strategies, how games support coping, and their general coping styles. Our paper contributes a framework for coping strategies to deal with game-based toxicity and provides insights into the prevalence of these strategies among players and factors that affect their usage and effectiveness. These findings can be used to guide better in-game tools that help players mitigate the harm caused by toxicity.