New study shows almost half of UK LGBTQ+ gamers find friends online
LGBTQ+ gamers know that finding friends online is like stepping onto a minefield. You never know whether the person you’re interacting with is going to still be your friend if you let slip you’re queer, or whether they’ll curse you out and throw you aside. In real life, away from the safety of potentially being thousands of miles away, it’s even worse.
However according to Pink News, a study from market research agency Synchronix Research (which looked at the gaming habits of players in the UK aged 16 – 64) reveals that being openly LGBTQ+ online doesn’t always lead to the negative. In fact, there’s some very good positives out there for LGBTQ+ gamers.
It should be noted that out of the 1007 people who responded to Synchronix Research, only 102 identified as LGBTQ+. Regardless of that small number, it said a lot about gaming habits online, and how gaming online can affect queer gamers.
For one thing, 36% of the LGBT+ respondents enjoy how gaming helps them be social with not just friends, but people from all around the world. This is especially true when gamers feel as though they can’t be themselves around their family, often using online and multiplayer games to interact with and convey who they truly are in an area that’s safe for them. Just look at how many people play games with LGBTQ+ friendly communities like Habbo Hotel.
As Pink News points out though, it isn’t all butterflies and rainbow for queer gamers online. 40% of LGBTQ+ gamers report facing homophobia while gaming online, and another 12% reports that transphobia has also been part of it too. What’s worse is that 44% of queer respondents state that they don’t challenge the problem at all, and choose to simply ignore it. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as hate-raids and doxxing have unfortunately become more and more common in online spaces like Twitch and YouTube.
Regardless, it isn’t enough to push queer gamers away from playing online completely. According to the Director of Synchronix Research, Paul Watts. He states “the gaming community is a diverse community and LGBTQ players are fully part of it, with 60% of LGBTQ adults playing every week. Gaming brings more positives than negatives for LGBTQ players with many clearly enjoying the social interaction and the friendship it can bring.” Nonetheless, Watts acknowledges that gaming online does have its negatives. “However, it is sad to see that over one in three have encountered homophobia and this may well explain why a similar proportion choose to remain in the closet online.”
One way to conquer such negativity, in our humble opinion, would be to add more queer representation into video games – regardless of genre. One of the most inclusive games in gaming is a battle royale game, after all. It also helps that as generations come to pass, we’ve got people who are willing to fight back against homophobia and transphobia online.
About The Author
