Philanthropic, prosocial players: How game-related charity events motivate unlikely donors

Abstract

Although we have long known that many different types of individuals play video games, the stereotypical “gamer” is often portrayed as a young male. Furthermore, research into questions such as violence and aggression, addiction or problematic play, and toxic gaming communities tends to frame gamers and gaming as anti-social. From a philanthropic perspective, then, gamers appear to be unlikely candidates for charitable giving. Following attendance at a fundraising game tournament for Gamers Outreach, a non-profit charity that provides video game systems to children’s hospitals, this research team conducted a survey of attendees. Our findings suggest that gamers are willing to support and monetarily contribute to a cause they believe in, but also that engaging potential donors through their preexisting interests and communities—in this case, games—can be a productive form of outreach. Finally, participants recognized and sought to combat gaming’s anti-social stereotypes, revealing a further motivation behind their charitable behavior.

Full text

https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221130738
new media & society
2024, Vol. 26(8) 4867 –4884
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/14614448221130738
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Philanthropic, prosocial
players: How game-related
charity events motivate
unlikely donors
Amanda C Cote
University of Oregon, USA
Sonya Dal Cin
University of Michigan, USA
Liese Exelmans
Karel de Grote Hogeschool, Belgium
Matea Mustafaj
University of Michigan, USA
Abstract
Although we have long known that many different types of individuals play video games,
the stereotypical “gamer” is often portrayed as a young male. Furthermore, research
into questions such as violence and aggression, addiction or problematic play, and
toxic gaming communities tends to frame gamers and gaming as anti-social. From a
philanthropic perspective, then, gamers appear to be unlikely candidates for charitable
giving. Following attendance at a fundraising game tournament for Gamers Outreach,
a non-profit charity that provides video game systems to children’s hospitals, this
research team conducted a survey of attendees. Our findings suggest that gamers are
willing to support and monetarily contribute to a cause they believe in, but also that
engaging potential donors through their preexisting interests and communities—in this
case, games—can be a productive form of outreach. Finally, participants recognized
Corresponding author:
Amanda C Cote, School of Journalism and Communication, Allen Hall, 1275, University of Oregon, Eugene,
OR 97403, USA.
Email: acote@uoregon.edu
1130738NMS0010.1177/14614448221130738new media & societyCote et al.
research-article2022
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