Controversial opinion ahoy.
ITT I am not talking about racists, people who make personal attacks or jabs or demeans someone for their race, gender or creed.
I also think this is more of a total reflection of society in general and online video games are just a subset of that - but hear me out.
TL;DR - we as gamers hide behind words like toxic, rage, tilt to avoid taking personal accountability, responsibility and most importantly, the ability to grow.
Right now, you can't go far in online gaming without seeing the word toxic being thrown around. It's used to describe someone who is actively creating an environment that lowers your teams chances of winning - usually through text or verbal engagement.
However, sometimes, the people who hide behind these words often view criticisms as attacks about one's game play, regardless of delivery.
So - this creates a "care bear" attitude where the only way to keep a win going is by falsifying praise, celebrating mediocrity and avoiding personal criticism. Often having an overly positive, non-reality grounded response of "It's ok guys, I know he's given up the past 10 deaths but it's fine! we can push through", which is certainly fine for the moment, but often not for any game after that, especially if the player is simply just not learning.
It is essentially the "participation ribbon" of online gaming and will ultimately lead to a more casual, non-confrontational or critical play.
Why is this bad?
For individuals, it's not that bad - they get instant gratification, play their games and move on. They live in a bubble where they are right and the rest of the world is just bullies - but it's certainly going to be an issue on a macro level, and we're seeing it with games becoming more and more casual with few rewards for those that are interested in being better at the game or focus on team based games.
This means that the chasm between 'pro player' and 'average player who wants to play competitively' becomes larger and larger.
Personally, I just fear the day when parents will be calling their teachers toxic because their kid got a C.
ITT I am not talking about racists, people who make personal attacks or jabs or demeans someone for their race, gender or creed.
I also think this is more of a total reflection of society in general and online video games are just a subset of that - but hear me out.
TL;DR - we as gamers hide behind words like toxic, rage, tilt to avoid taking personal accountability, responsibility and most importantly, the ability to grow.
Right now, you can't go far in online gaming without seeing the word toxic being thrown around. It's used to describe someone who is actively creating an environment that lowers your teams chances of winning - usually through text or verbal engagement.
However, sometimes, the people who hide behind these words often view criticisms as attacks about one's game play, regardless of delivery.
So - this creates a "care bear" attitude where the only way to keep a win going is by falsifying praise, celebrating mediocrity and avoiding personal criticism. Often having an overly positive, non-reality grounded response of "It's ok guys, I know he's given up the past 10 deaths but it's fine! we can push through", which is certainly fine for the moment, but often not for any game after that, especially if the player is simply just not learning.
It is essentially the "participation ribbon" of online gaming and will ultimately lead to a more casual, non-confrontational or critical play.
Why is this bad?
For individuals, it's not that bad - they get instant gratification, play their games and move on. They live in a bubble where they are right and the rest of the world is just bullies - but it's certainly going to be an issue on a macro level, and we're seeing it with games becoming more and more casual with few rewards for those that are interested in being better at the game or focus on team based games.
This means that the chasm between 'pro player' and 'average player who wants to play competitively' becomes larger and larger.
Personally, I just fear the day when parents will be calling their teachers toxic because their kid got a C.