Endnu en undersøgelse viser nu, at online-gamere, og især de som går i krig med mmo-genren, bestemt ikke er asociale bæster uden sociale færdigheder, som diverse dommedagsprofeter igennem flere år har antydet. Professor Mark Griffiths og hans hold på Nottingham Trent University’s School of Social Sciences har fået offentliggjort en undersøgelse i det amerikanske “CyberPsychology and Behavior”, som ganske klart viser i hvor stor grad de virtuelle venskaber udmønter sig i den virkelige verden. Undersøgelsen viser også at kvindelige spillere er mere tilbøjelige til at blive tiltrukket af medspillere end deres mandlige kollegaer. Vi bringer her et lille uddrag af undersøgelsens konklusioner.


Three quarters of online role-playing gamers make good friends with the people they meet in their virtual worlds, with almost half meeting in real-life situations and one in ten going on to develop physical relationships, according to a new study. The research, carried out by researchers at Nottingham Trent University, and being published in the US journal CyberPsychology and Behavior, finally dispels any myths of online gamers as asocial, introverted loners.



Other findings to come out of the study, Social Interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers, included more than 30% of participants finding themselves attracted to another player; and 40% choosing to discuss sensitive issues with online friends rather than their real-life friends.



One in five participants believed that Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) had a negative effect on their relationships if their partner was not a player, while more than two-thirds felt they had a positive effect on their relationships with those who did play.



Females were significantly more likely than males to be attracted to other players, and were far more likely to go on to date them. Most females gave therapeutic refreshment as their main reason for playing, whereas most males stated ‘curiosity, astonishment and interest’ as reasons.



Around a third of gamers reported they could be more themselves in the game than in real life.



The study, which looked at almost 1,000 online gamers from across the world, found the average number of hours played per week was 22.85. The most popular MMORPG in the study was World of Warcraft, with almost half of participants naming it their favourite game.

4 KOMMENTARER

  1. Jeg har mødt en af mine gode venner gennem wow hvor vi var i samme guild det viste sig at vi boede 2min gå gang fra hinanded så det passer sku meget godt.