The anonymity of online gaming

When I look at profile pictures then hardly anyone uses a real picture of himself or herself, often it´s a character from a game or some some model that was probably put there by some desperate virgin. With all the technology we have now, the digital cameras and other hardware like Kinect, a lot of gamers still prefer to be hidden. Which is actually not that strange, I mean why would you put your face out there when hardly anyone else does it? Especially when so many people in the online gaming world seem to be quite immature, why would you give them ammunation that they can use against you?

Standing out or easy target? I think somewhere deep down inside we like to be unique, well we are actually but in our behaviour we often show that we feel more comfortable in a group and being a part of that group. Because standing out in a crowd makes you an easier target, so putting your face on your profile makes it easier for the people with the game or cartoon pictures to target you. No matter how strong you are, when a group of people band up against you then there is no point for discussion, because you´ll hear a lot of noise and not much of it will be worth hearing. I think I´ve only seen a few profiles where people actually used a picture of themselves, probably the reason why I could see this is because you´re friends with him or her. Which is actually a good defense, so strangers see a picture from a game and your friends see a picture of you.

Is it worth putting your personal information in your bio? Well I would be careful with that, I mean you never know who reads that and it would be stupid to put sensitive information there. But putting your country and your first name in your bio doesn´t seem like a bad idea. Unless you prefer people call you by a nickname, I mean you´re in control what people can see and what they can´t see. It´s actually a good way to make friends, because when someone enjoyed playing a game with you then they can read a bit about you. This might actually encourage them to contact you. Unfortunately less friendly people will sometimes read this as well, especially when you´ve been kicking their ass in a game. So as much as you want to be friendly to others, remember that there will always be people that aren´t friendly and will use the information you share against you!

When you´re hiding behind your screen you feel more powerful, of course this power is but an illusion because the moment you step away from your computer or console you don´t feel this power anymore. In a way people show a lot of times their ugly side online, probably because this feeling of being untouchable seems to mess with their mind. But as much as you might hate it, this is the future of gaming. In the old days you would sit on the couch with your friends playing games for fun, now you often play games with strangers and insult eachother whenever something goes wrong. So has online gaming really improved the fun of gaming? Well it´s not all bad, you can also play with your friends online or make friends all over the world. I guess it just depends on who you are and who they are. The anonymity of online gaming might hide who you are, but good or bad behaviour is often quite clear to others. You´ll make friends and possibly some enemies, but then again the moment you step away from your computer or console you don´t even really think about it anymore do you? Online gaming plays a role in our lives, but it doesn´t define our lives and it doesn´t define us. So even the biggest troll online can be a decent guy or girl when he or she isn´t online, but as long as you know eachother only online then you might never know...