What drives gamer toxicity? Essays from players

Negative online behaviors, such as toxicity, continue being issues in several popular multiplayer online games. Related research suggests that there are individual differences in how players understand the concept, and that various interconnected variables are relevant in understanding the emergence of toxicity. To explore this topic further, in this study, we gathered 16 essays from gamers regarding their experiences of toxicity in online games. Using the Gioia method for qualitative analysis, we divided the concepts described in the essays broadly into characteristics related to (1) the socio-technological setting in which the playing takes place; (2) the stakeholders' individual disposition including personality and player relationships; and (3) situational drivers, meaning events and actions that transpire during gameplay. As an important meta-level implication, our findings raise concerns regarding the lack of a universally shared view on toxicity, which were visible even with the rather homogenous sample of participants in this study.