Online Abuse and Age in Dota 2

This work examined experiences and perceptions of verbal abuse in an online game, Dota 2, in regard to age. A dataset (n=364) was gathered via an online survey with a normal age distribution, but skewed to male respondents. Statistically significant relationships were found between age and: perception of seriousness of communication abuse, number of times placed in the low priority pool, and participation in communication abuse. No statistically significant relationship was found between age and number of times target of communication abuse. Findings suggest that as player age increases, so does participation in communication abuse. Although this runs counter to existing research, it may be explained by differing perceptions of communication abuse according to age. The findings have implications both for the ways in which online abuse and harassment is investigated, and for the ways in which it can be addressed by game developers and wider society.