Gamer Bully

It happened quickly. In the midst of a fierce firefight, grenades and bullets raining from above, a voice buzzed in my headset. He had found me. We were the only ones. And he provoked me to speak.

I said nothing, of course. I’m not much a talker while playing online. Occasionally I’ll exchange friendly banter when my friends are online, but in this case I wasn’t eager to entertain another banal conversation.

Again, he probed. “If you have a headset, you’ve got to talk. It’s annoying when people don’t talk.”

Again, I ignored him. But he continued. “I hate you people who don’t talk. Just talk already.”
When I finished the game, I turned off my console, but the feeling of being “gamer bullied” stuck with me. It’s laughable, but it’s true.

Most of us are mature enough to recognize when bullying occurs. And with so much attention being thrust upon the issue of bullying in schools across the nation, there is more information available on bullying than ever before. But is it possible that we’re forgetting the “gamer bully?”

As an educator and gamer, I like to think that the old social stigma placed on “gamers” has disappeared and people from all walks of life can come together over a video game and find some common ground to stand on. My own students, students who wouldn’t normally speak, have found a common interest in Call of Duty.

I guess, in the end, I hope that more of the later occurs. Let’s come together and enjoy friendly competition instead of creating more conflict than what appears on the screen!