How Does Online Gaming Affect Face-to-Face Interactions

There has been a long running debate as to whether or not video games have a negative effect on society, or a positive one. And honestly, there is science to prove both sides in the right.

So, if you are wondering how online gaming affects face to face interactions, keep reading, as we will present the facts and findings from both sides.

The Positive Affect of Gaming on Social Interactions

Let’s start with the positives. Currently, there are many social gaming groups around the world. They vary from those who only meet online, to those who live in a hybrid of the two. No matter what game you are playing, it is highly likely that there is some sort of social group you can join surrounding it.

1. Most Social Interaction Within Games is Positive

Despite what you might see on TV, one particular study in 2006 found that gamers, specifically male gamers, most often spoke positively to other players than not. The researchers performed their research by sifting through over 5,800 online messages, sorting them into “social” messages versus “task-oriented” messages. A task oriented message would relate directly to the game, and any talk which didn’t relate to the operation of the game was classified as a social message.

What they found was astounding. Young boys were 3x more likely to send a social-based message than a task-oriented one, and of all of the social messages, over two-thirds of them were positive and not negative. 

Thus, the researchers concluded that gaming could provide a positive social interaction, especially in young males who otherwise may feel isolated.

2. Video Games Are a Safe Space

To take that a step further, researchers found that video games were considered a safe space among young males. This means individuals who would otherwise avoid social interaction, due to anxiety, depression, or conditions like Autism, felt that they could still connect with others their age through a game.

Thus, video games seem to provide something necessary for a portion of society who would engage in more dangerous forms of connection otherwise. To date, the researchers haven’t been able to propose a solution that would provide social interaction in the same way.

3. Learning Teamwork in an Increasingly Digital Age

No matter what you think, society isn’t going back. Digitization is here to stay. This means, that children who are learning to interact digitally, and perform teamwork in a digital setting, are learning skills that could help them for the rest of their life. 

This is a skill that isn’t really taught in school and something individuals with conditions like depression and anxiety may not be able to learn otherwise. Additionally, video games are a level playing field for those with disabilities who would otherwise be excluded in an environment like the school playground.

The Negative Affect of Gaming on Social Interaction

Of course, for every light side, there is a dark one. Below, we dive into the negative aspects of social interaction via video games.

1. False Confidence

There are many news stories about young children who have unknowingly been communicating with sexual predators through video games. This safe space, of chatting about a game both of them played, would often give the child a false sense of confidence in their friendship with the predator.

Therefore, many young children have made dangerous decisions to meet up with individuals whom they have met online. And although games (and parents) warn their children not to do so, they still do. This false confidence is an extremely detrimental aspect of social interactions in games.

2. Lack of Learned Social Queues

This next negative is somewhat intertwined with our first one. Think of it this way, if a young boy who is 10, saw one of the predators he speaks with in Minecraft in person, he would likely immediately avoid him. One, because he is a man, and two, because he is likely behaving in a way that the boy’s mother warned him about.

But it doesn’t just end there. Of course, this is the deadliest aspect of the lack of social cues, but even for those who don’t meet up with strangers, they met in the game, communicating solely through digital messages doesn’t allow them to learn social cues—such as facial expressions or hand motions. While these may not be a major aspect of a social interaction, they are definitely part of it—especially when you consider that experts state that 90% of all communication is non-verbal. 

Thus, it is highly likely that young children who only interact with other young children through games could grow up to be poorly adjusted adults.

3. Individuals Are More Likely to Become Addicted

Unfortunately, though social gaming has many positive effects on an individual, those who play games which involve a social aspect, and utilize those social aspects, are far more likely to become addicted to the game.

Of course, addiction is a strong word, but basically, kids who have a virtual social network will long to be in it when they are not. This sounds bad, but when you consider those who get involved in gang culture experience something similar, you have to admit that an online game addiction is probably far less detrimental in the long term.

Now, we aren’t trying to discredit this study; we just want parents to know that though their kids may be addicted to video games, forcing them to quit cold turkey can find them addicted to something far worse.

Overall, the world of social gaming and its effect on society isn’t black and white. Here at MintDice.com, we believe social gaming makes gaming more fun, and helps players to feel more comfortable, even if they aren’t playing in person. Obviously, there are some bad sides to social gaming, and we urge those who find themselves unable to stop to seek help, but we will stand by the fact that social gaming is better, for everyone, long term.  

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