Playing Against Hate Speech: How Teens See Hate Speech in Video Games and Online Gaming Communities

Susana Raquel Costa; Mirian Nogueira Tavares; Bruno Mendes Silva; Paulo Falcão Alves; Filipa Cerol; Beatriz Isca

doi:10.34624/jdmi.v3i6.15064

Susana Raquel Costa Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação
Mirian Nogueira Tavares Universidade do Algarve / Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação
Bruno Mendes Silva Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação
Paulo Falcão Alves Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação
Filipa Cerol Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação
Beatriz Isca Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34624/jdmi.v3i6.15064

Keywords: videogames, hatespeech, teens, game literacy

Abstract

This article proposes the study and analysis of the state-of-the-art in video game panorama, focusing on the tendency to use hate speech among young players. The immersion of the player in the symbolic arena of the game, where everything becomes possible, raises questions about the relationship between video games in the virtual world, and the player’s behavior in the physical world. It is shown that anonymity and the creation of communities and game groups can lead to the exclusion of and attacks to minorities; chat communications can facilitate sharing interests and game techniques as well as insults in times of tension between players, leading to imperative reflection on the role of gaming platforms in the control of shared content. Considering the boundless possibilities of video games, this article also reflects on game literacy and on how games have the potential to become powerful learning tools.

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Author Biographies

Susana Raquel Costa, Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação

Susana Costa is a PhD student in Media-digital Art (Universidade Aberta/Universidade do Algarve). Currently, she is project manager at CIAC- Research Centre for Arts and Communication where she participates in many international projects. She published and have presented scientific papers. She collaborates with research centers since 2004.

Susana Costa also collaborates with medium and high schools, where she teaches.

Her research interests are education, arts and technology.

Mirian Nogueira Tavares, Universidade do Algarve / Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação

Mirian Tavares is an Associate Professor at the University of Algarve. With an academic background in Communication Sciences, Semiotics and Cultural Studies (she has earned a PhD in Contemporary Communication and Culture from the Federal University of Bahia), she has developed her research and theoretical work in the fields of Cinema, Literature and other Arts, as well as in the areas of film and arts aesthetics. As a Professor at the University of Algarve, she took part in the preparation of the Degree in Visual Arts, the Master’s and PhD Degrees in Communication, Culture and Arts, and the PhD in Digital Media-Art. She is currently the Coordinator of CIAC – Centre for Research in Arts and Communication, and Vice-coordinator of the PhD in Digital Media-Art.

Bruno Mendes Silva, Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação

Bruno Mendes da Silva has a postdoctoral degree in the scoop of the project “The forking paths: Hypotheses of Interactivity for the Cinema of the Future”, by the University of the Algarve (UAlg), he has a PhD in Literature and Cinema (Comparative Literature) by UAlg, postgraduate degree in Arts Management from the Institute of European Studies of Macau (IEEM) and a degree in Cinema and Video from the ESAP (Porto School of Arts). He is coordinator of the Communication Sciences Department at the School of Education and Communication (ESEC) at the University of Algarve. He is Vice-coordinator of the Center for Research in Arts and Communication. He is a Guest Professor at Saint Joseph University of Macau.

Paulo Falcão Alves, Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação

Paulo Falcão Alves has a degree in Communication Sciences from Universidade University Fernando Pessoa, in the variant of Advertising; a master's degree in Communication Sciences from Universidade University Fernando Pessoa in the variant of Advertising Communication and a PhD in Communication Sciences from University of Minho in the variant of Sociology of Communication and Information. He is subdirector of the Communication Sciences graduation at the School of Education and Communication (ESEC) at the University of Algarve. Is a Professor in Communication Sciences graduation at the University of Algarve and is Guest Professor at Saint Joseph University of Macau. He is a collaborating researcher at CIAC - Research Center in Arts and Communication.

Filipa Cerol, Universidade do Algarve/ Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação

Filipa Cerol has a degree in Communication Sciences from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in the variant of Audiovisual and Interactive Media, and master's degree in Communication, Culture and Information Technologies from ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute. PhD student in Communication (joint program of the public universities of Seville, Cadiz, Huelva and Malaga, Spain). Lecturer in Communication Sciences at the University of Algarve and collaborating researcher at CIAC - Research Center in Arts and Communication.

Beatriz Isca, Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação

Beatriz Isca has a degree in Product Design from University of Fine Arts of Lisbon and is currently a research fellow at CIAC - Centre for Research in Arts and Communication, in the project “Play your role”. Her research interests are design, arts and technology.

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