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Agreed. Gaming-oriented discords (or their predecessors, mumble, teamspeak, skype) are often a social networks of their own - complete with the social drama tha

Agreed. Gaming-oriented discords (or their predecessors, mumble, teamspeak, skype) are often a social networks of their own - complete with the social drama that often comes with social networks. I love games, but I've never felt comfortable in any gaming group due to the fact that being female in one of those groups almost always means you end up getting a special sort of attention or making others uncomfortable by your presence. My husband has been in a few of these groups throughout the years though, so I often listen in since he plays through the speakers. Some groups are more competitive and oriented to a specific game, others are just groups of friends who pick a game based on who's around and what games they have, but the social aspect is critical in each. In competitive ones people typically want to prove themselves as valuable teammates, while in casual ones people just want to share a experience with friends. The one huge difference I have seen between gaming social groups and social media though is that it's typically much easier to ditch your gaming group since you don't always have connections to those people in other ways. It's more socially acceptable to say you just changed gaming preferences when you want to avoid interacting with certain people who play that game, meanwhile deleting your whole social media profile or blocking a bunch of people is more prone to being judged harshly. So I think the article is way off base with dismissing the social aspect of games as a major draw for guys. But there are truths to there being significant differences in the way the social networks manifest. My personal hypothesis would be it's related to differences in the "stickiness" of the platforms over which communication primarily occurs now.

asjw 7y ago
Hunting had a social aspect too. But it wasn't a social activity. Just like gaming, it's gaming the majority of the time. Social activities have parts that are similar to gaming, like when a group of friends ends up playing beer pong. But it's a social activity, not gaming. And that's where we make the distinction.
- sudosteph 7y ago
  I don't really see it. Hunting for survival and social game-playing to pass the time and hang out with people are different motivators. Game playing as a social activity has existed in many different cultures throughout history. Think about the popularity of simple dice and card games as recreational social activities throughout history. Most people who played those games didn't care about the game itself, it was just something to do with people and maybe they would win and get a bit of a thrill (or some cash when a gambling element was attached). So if the theory is that men just like games themselves, and that the social element is not a big factor in frequent game playing - then better comparison then would be to compare gambling habits between male and females. One study showed that among people with gambling problems, men were more likely to participate in sports betting, poker, and casino games - all games with a high social element and where it's possible to have a network of regulars you befriend and play with (and which in most casinos I've been to, those games have a social environment that is male-dominant). Meanwhile, women gambling addicts were more likely to be use single-player machines (poker/blackjack machines, slots) while gambling [1], which seems to indicate they are more likely addicted to the games themselves and rush of winning. I could be missing something and maybe women like go out playing with a group of friends and chat while playing - but every time I see people playing video gambling, they usually seem pretty enthralled with their machine. But then there's also a big difference in the number of women who gamble and rate of addiction to gambling between men and women (with men more likely to play and be addicted in the first place). So again, I'm not disputing that there are differences and that some men are genuinely just obssesed with games themselves - but I do think that the social network factor and "stickiness" factor of that social network is hugely important to understanding why many guys spend such a disproportionate amount of time playing video games vs social media or other social activities, and why it's not necessarily so different from other social activities. [1] https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2018.1495750 https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2018.1495750

asjw 7y ago

Hunting had a social aspect too. But it wasn't a social activity. Just like gaming, it's gaming the majority of the time. Social activities have parts that are similar to gaming, like when a group of friends ends up playing beer pong. But it's a social activity, not gaming. And that's where we make the distinction.

sudosteph 7y ago
I don't really see it. Hunting for survival and social game-playing to pass the time and hang out with people are different motivators. Game playing as a social activity has existed in many different cultures throughout history. Think about the popularity of simple dice and card games as recreational social activities throughout history. Most people who played those games didn't care about the game itself, it was just something to do with people and maybe they would win and get a bit of a thrill (or some cash when a gambling element was attached). So if the theory is that men just like games themselves, and that the social element is not a big factor in frequent game playing - then better comparison then would be to compare gambling habits between male and females. One study showed that among people with gambling problems, men were more likely to participate in sports betting, poker, and casino games - all games with a high social element and where it's possible to have a network of regulars you befriend and play with (and which in most casinos I've been to, those games have a social environment that is male-dominant). Meanwhile, women gambling addicts were more likely to be use single-player machines (poker/blackjack machines, slots) while gambling [1], which seems to indicate they are more likely addicted to the games themselves and rush of winning. I could be missing something and maybe women like go out playing with a group of friends and chat while playing - but every time I see people playing video gambling, they usually seem pretty enthralled with their machine. But then there's also a big difference in the number of women who gamble and rate of addiction to gambling between men and women (with men more likely to play and be addicted in the first place). So again, I'm not disputing that there are differences and that some men are genuinely just obssesed with games themselves - but I do think that the social network factor and "stickiness" factor of that social network is hugely important to understanding why many guys spend such a disproportionate amount of time playing video games vs social media or other social activities, and why it's not necessarily so different from other social activities. [1] https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2018.1495750 https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2018.1495750