MMOs Have Social Value

In a relatively recent piece of published research (Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as "Third Places"), two researchers have concluded MMOs are filling a Cheers like niche in social interaction. They do this

By providing spaces for social interaction and relationships beyond the workplace and home, MMOs have the capacity to function as one form of a new "third place" for informal sociability much like the pubs, coffee shops, and other hangouts of old. Moreover, participation in such virtual "third places" appears particularly well suited to the formation of bridging social capital (Putnam, 2000), social relationships that, while not providing deep emotional support per se, typically function to expose the individual to a diversity of worldviews.

Reactions to this article have been varied, and initial reactions by gamers tend towards Nicodemus of Kill Ten Rats (KTR), though in the comments he admits being misled slightly by the GameDaily Biz article. On the other hand Raph Koster seems to believe the study has a good bit of value despite the "well thats obvious" gut reaction of many MMO players, particularly because

the common sense of game players has no validity in, say, a Congressional hearing. Common sense and anecdotal impressions aren’t worth much in science in general, and having concrete data to present to game detractors is an incredibly valuable thing.

I find this particularly interesting because the more government attempts to influence what type of and the content of games available the more significant studies of this sort will be in allowing game companies to continue doing what they're doing.

Something else I found particularly interesting from the study;

In his seminal text, Oldenburg (1999) documents the decline in brick-and-mortar "third places" in America where individuals can gather to socialize informally beyond the workplace and home. The effects are negative for both individuals and communities: "The essential group experience is being replaced by the exaggerated self-consciousness of individuals. American lifestyles, for all the material acquisition and the seeking after comforts and pleasures, are plagued by boredom, loneliness, alienation" (Oldenburg, 1999, p. 13). Recent national survey data appear to corroborate this assertion, with census data indicating that television claims more than half of American leisure time, while only three-quarters of an hour per day is spent socializing in or outside of the home (Longley, 2004).

Essentially, MMOs are being used in lieu of face to face meeting places rather than in addition too. People are increasingly (myself included) staying in, playing, and socializing rather than going out and socializing. I find this particularly interesting in light of the assertions made by Constance Steinkuehler and Dmitri Williams about MMOs being "third places". After achieving a better understanding of what is meant by a "third place" I am beginning to believe MMOs are a better setting than many of the bars and hang-outs I've found where I live. My reasoning for this is simply this, there are no places allowing you to meet people without registering their ethnicity, income levels, etc. MMOs provide this as a unique feature of meeting new people, as well as bridging the gap of oceans and nationalities.

I recently had the pleasure of getting together with number of guildmates whom I did not know in real life prior to the get together. World of Warcraft has allowed me to meet and get to know people from all over the United States not to mention the rest of the globe. An additional benefit to meeting people through an MMO versus randomly in a bar or coffee shop is you will immediately have something to discuss, it establishes a common interest effortlessly.

By no means would I advocate forgoing face to face meetings in order to establish relationships and make acquaintances because I believe the face to face interaction is far more conducive to continued development of a relationship. As a vehicle for metting large quantities of diverse people I'm not sure anything can promote interaction of widely varying groups of people as well as online gaming.