Kids face bullying over in-game items and skins, study suggests

Children are facing social exclusion or bullying over the purchase of in-game items and cosmetics in online games, a new study suggests.

As reported by the Crossplay newsletter and translated by ScienceNorway.no, Norwegian researchers Kamilla Knutsen Steinnes and Clara Julia Reich of Oslo Metropolitan University were tasked with studying the influence of money in video games by the country’s Ministry of Children and Family Affairs.

“There is still much to learn about the social dynamics within children’s virtual worlds and governments and policymakers worldwide are interested in this topic from a regulatory perspective,” the researches told Crossplay. “Video games are also an important part of children’s everyday lives and there is little research on young people’s digital consumption in a Norwegian context.”

The report studied the impact of games on children aged between 10 and 15, and found that the gaming market integrates with everything else they do in life, with no sharp distinction between their online and offline world. “These are just different parts of the social world they navigate, and appearance, or skins, are important identity markers,” the report says.

The researchers explained: “The pressure to fit in resembles what is already taking place in other contexts but takes on new forms. Some children might end up feeling excluded if they lack the resources (e.g., Wi-Fi, gaming equipment, in-game currency) to play with their friends or might get picked on based on what ‘skin’ they are wearing.”

Steinnes and Reich said that part of the problem was the way in which game developers have become proficient at putting marketing in front of players that’s difficult to avoid.

“There are important differences when comparing video games to other leisure activities among children,” the researchers explained. “In football, for example, children may get exposed to commercial content such as banners for football shoes, typically for a limited time within a given physical context (e.g., during training at the football court).

“Video games, however, employ a variety of tailored marketing strategies to constantly target children and their need to feel a sense of belonging and individuality. Moreover, we found various deceptive design strategies (i.e., ‘dark patterns’) in games and a lack of regulation. This implies that young people have less consumer protection online compared to physical arenas.”

The study found that some children were not even aware they were spending real money. Some games, such as Fortnite (V-Bucks) and Roblox (robux) intentionally obfuscate real currency.

“Some children talked about various strategies they used to protect themselves from commercial influence, such as not visiting the in-game shop or doing chores (like vacuuming) instead of playing video games,” said the researchers. “Social influence was added to the commercial pressure, where the children wanted to stay updated on ‘skin-trends’ and to belong in-game among peers.”

Last year Fortnite maker Epic Games was ordered to pay $245 million back to consumers over “unwanted” purchases. The payment was to settle charges that the company “used dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases” and let children rack up unauthorized charges without any parental involvement.