What Do Players of Video Games Experience When Enacting Virtual Violence?

Abstract information

The topic of virtual violence in video games has been highly contested in Germany and other countries, especially in the context of school shootings. In contrast to these public debates, CHRISTOPH BAREITHER is interested in investigating the emotional experiences players have while enacting virtual violence. As he explains in this video, he used an ethnographic approach known as participant observation – in this case playing over a thousand hours of video games – in combination with interviews and the study of magazine articles in order to establish the emotional practices of players. He found that these emotional experiences are indeed very heterogeneous and very complex. This finding offers a new insight that could contribute to future public and political debates on the topic.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10486

Researcher

Christoph Bareither is Junior Professor of European Anthropology and Media Anthropology at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Previously, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Tübingen. In his research, he applies an ethnographic approach to studying the way digital technologies transform everyday practices and experiences. In 2016, he received the German Dissertation Award for his PhD thesis.

Institution information

Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

In 1810, Wilhelm von Humboldt’s idea of founding a new type of university became a reality. The combination of teaching and research, academic freedom and the comprehensive education of students was not only a model for the Prussian university but for the world as well. And a new era for universities and academic research began. Each year, over 6,000 people decide to study at Humboldt-Universität located in the heart of Berlin. There are few other places where you can choose from 190 degree programmes, from Agricultural Science to Asian Studies. The university is first and foremost dedicated to fundamental research. Humboldt-Universität’s strengths in particular are in research on antiquity, history, philosophy, and quantitative economics as well as the life sciences, especially theoretical biology, neurology and immunology. It also has strengths in mathematics, material and optical sciences, and climate and sustainability research. These key strengths are shaped by twelve collaborative research areas, nine graduate research clusters and eleven interdisciplinary centres. Three integrated research institutes strongly connect and coordinate different research areas while developing focused topics for the future. (Source: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

Original Publication

Gewalt im Computerspiel: Facetten eines Vergnügens

Citation

Christoph Bareither, 

Latest Thinking, 

What Do Players of Video Games Experience When Enacting Virtual Violence?, 

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10486, 

Credits:

© Christoph Bareither

and Latest Thinking

This work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0