Braedan Lukens

            Many people think that gamers are alone when they play games; however, there is an entire community behind their screens. Over the years, with the help of social media, gaming has evolved from a common interest to a massive community.

            The gaming community has two sides: the good and the bad. There are positive outcomes like social bonds and competitive outlets, and negative outcomes like addictive nature and toxicity.

  According to Statista’s Global Consumer Survey (GCS), one in five U.S. gamers experience toxic behavior such as racism or sexism in the gaming community.  As the statistic shows, when asked “What would you say about the gaming community as a whole?”, streamer handle @heyitsstrange said one word and one word only: “toxic”.

            On the other hand, during the pandemic, the gaming community served as a haven for quarantined newly turned gamers. With the new attention to the gaming community, companies seized the opportunity to showcase and expand the creativity and positivity in the community.

            In 2020, Facebook launched a yearly 10-million-dollar initiative to fund black gaming creators. The program under the “We the Culture” initiative, was created to empower the next generation of black creators by providing support with funding and resources.

The program can potentially bring in a new, more positive era for the gaming community. According to Facebook’s company Meta, they continue to “look for creators who want to celebrate their communities, amplify their unique narratives, and have a positive impact.”