Exploring The Empathetic Side Of Gaming

There are many narratives about online gaming. Some view it only as an outlet for pent up aggression, or to escape from the responsibilities of the real world – both socially and physically. But recent years of gaming research has revealed a side to gaming that debunks these concerns and in fact highlights that those who game from younger ages are actually tapping into a much-needed social skill – empathy. 

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. With it, young people are able to form healthy relationships, communicate effectively, and access deeper emotional intelligence. When learnt from a young age, it helps set young people up for stronger friendships and the communication skills to support them. In a more traditional scenario, empathy would develop with in-person interactions. But when we look for empathy online, it grows best in online games. 

Many online games are social by design. If you look at the vast selection of multiplayer games available, quickly you can see that communication – and often, cooperation – are key to advancing. Because these setups make players depend on each other for support, they start to apply empathy as a means to solve problems. For example, they are looking to work out what other players are struggling with and solutions to help them. 

But it’s not only multiplayer experiences where this sort of thinking happens. Narrative-driven games put players in someone else’s shoes. They have to take on the responsibility of getting their character the best outcome through making moral choices and building relationships within a world where the consequences can be unknown. This has a similar effect of watching a beautifully told film or reading a gripping novel. Though, in online gaming, the player is responsible for the experience and so the impact of making the right choices for someone else is amplified. 

But, what does the research actually say?

While the research is still emerging, several studies suggest games that reward helping behaviors, cooperation, and moral decision-making may encourage players to practice empathy both online and offline – a model we at World of Us think young players need much more of. 

There are always exceptions to this rule though and games that champion violence or high levels of competition don’t follow this trend. The absence of reward in helping another player or character means that young players won’t understand the benefits that go beyond the game world and can impact the real world around them.

For guardians who have concerns there are a few things we can recommend. Playing with kids is a great way to observe and contribute to moral decision making in gaming, for a better and clearer understanding on how young players are thinking through problems. Another great tip is to look for games with strong narratives, this way you can better understand the goals and intentions of the game. And as always, make time for in-person offline interaction where you talk about game play and allow young players to apply what they’ve learned in the real world.

We would never imply that gaming is all that’s required to help young gamers learn empathy. But, the shift in gaming capabilities has opened new doors. What once might have felt like a solo activity can actually be a great tool in connection and with that a great tool for the future.