Gaming Subculture, Social Control, And Virtual Criminality Case Study

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Introduction
In a study completed by Steven Downing, Gaming Subculture, Social Control, and Virtual Criminality: An Ethnographic Account, he observed the dynamics of formal and informal actions amongst gamers, whom were the subjects to participate in video games under Downing 's observed setting. The goal was to monitor the reactions these massively multiplayer online games, typically found on PCs, had on the gamers emotions and actions compared to the deviant and criminal behaviors which occurred after playing for an extended period of time (Downing, 2011). The internet and gaming audience have expanded rapidly over the years, with clear reasons why. Originally designed for a select type of audience, typically males over the age of 17, violent
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The first is the “general” contract, also known as the rules, which players must follow in order to play the game and the second being, the “in-game” policy where employees respond to calls and monitor breaches in the contract, made by the players. These two Terms of Service are able to dictate to the players what they are allowed and not allowed to do while playing in the virtual world, otherwise referred to by Downing, “The “Virtual” Social Contract.” Many players initially accept the Terms of Service without reading what they are agreeing to and later make accusations that the rule is “not clearly stated in the terms (Downing, 2011).” Once a player has presented a problem by breaking the contract, they become a “problem player,” and in some cases will be shunned by other players, who do not want any part of their deviant behavior. This leads the players to become angry and start performing the most deviant, virtual acts that they are able to get away with, until eventually being banned from the game. With this tactic in mind, it encourages players to commit deviant acts in real life in order to get their way in a complicated situation (Lees, …show more content…
With the information that has been provided to me, I stand behind Downing’s finding that their is highly intricate connection at play. While it is true, some players of violent video games commit deviant behaviors, others do not experiences the same effects, and that is something that Downing made very clear in his study. The reality of the situation is, there will always be those that have are prone to influence and are influenced by video games to commit deviant acts. Ultimately though, virtual worlds also offer a venue for players to communicate, work together, and accomplish tasks for the good of each other. To make the determination of whether their is a strong enough relationship between violent video games and deviant behavior, researchers will need to continue to push through the barriers, by getting hands on experience, such as what Downing completed. Although, this could restrict accurate data, dependent on the knowledge that a well performed ethnography’s conclusions are based solely on the opinion and experience of the researcher, rather than statistics. In order to establish an absolute answer to the relationship between videogames and deviant behavior, researchers would need more to obtain more personal data on the players and they should use different platforms of video games to get a more well-rounded view of

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