As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2024 and convened by the University of Glasgow’s College of Social Sciences, CREATe hosted a successful event on the 26th of October, More than Just for Fun: Towards an ethical, Secure, and Healthy Gaming Environment held at Glasgow Chinese School in Kelvin College. The event brought teenagers closer to the realities of the digital world, particularly the importance of safe, ethical, and balanced gaming practices, corresponding to the ‘our digital lives’ theme of Festival of Social Science this year. The event involved Scottish youth, aged 14 to 18, in discussions and hands-on activities to better understand the complexities and what to look out for as they enjoy digital gaming.

This event was divided into three unique sessions, each focusing on a specific research area related to gaming. Weiwei Yi talked about ethical/legal game design, based on their PhD research on game dark patterns. Anyi Liu, a external collaborator from the University of Bristol, led an interactive session on privacy protection in virtual reality (VR) gaming. Dajun Wang, a PhD Candidate from Urban Studies and the School of Education, covered gaming addiction and family relationships.

The audience exploring privacy settings in VR games

 The preparation for the event was a collaborative effort, with rounds of brainstorming within the team and with the FoSS team. Thanks to the pre-session training and workshop offered by the FoSS team, we learned how to craft attractive titles, blurbs, and promotion strategies, as well as techniques for better interaction with teenagers (e.g., keeping each session short and interactive). We also put in the effort to prepare and create customized materials—cardboard props, themed costumes, and stickers of cartoons and game elements—to make the learning experience visually appealing and memorable.

In the first session, Dajun Wang explored parent-child dynamics within the context of gaming addiction. He talked about anti-addiction policy on mobile phone games, and invited the student to reflect on their gaming behaviour and how it influences their family relationship. This is the part where the topic struck a chord with some attendees, as it touched on their personal experiences and family expectations around gaming. Dajun discussed how different anti-addiction policies in different regions are shaping gaming and live experiences for young people, and asked the audience for their thoughts on how to develop healthy gaming habits in the future.

Weiwei delivering her speech during the event
 
In the second session, Weiwei led a discussion on ethical game design and the concept of “dark patterns”—design elements in games that subtly manipulate players to keep them hyper-engaged or to spend money without realizing it. Weiwei used a quiz designed to illustrate how these deceptive mechanisms work. Weiwei gave prizes to the students who successfully identified as many of these “tricks” as possible during the session. The students were highly engaged (thanks to the gift-card sponsored by the FoSS budget), with one participant even pointing out the similar terminology used in types (e.g., confirmshaming and toy with emotion) when we came across a question with multiple answers. They also asked insightful questions about where the line between fun and manipulation is drawn, especially when one of their favorite games was listed by me as a possible case of dark game patterns.

The third session, convened by Anyi Liu, focused on privacy and data protection within VR gaming environments using 8 sets of Meta Quest 2. With VR platforms becoming increasingly popular, especially among young people, this session started with a slide show to inform the audiences on the crucial questions about privacy risks and personal data handling in immersive digital spaces. After that, through an interactive demonstration via Meta online streaming, Anyi explained the importance of safeguarding personal information and privacy and how to tackle potential security threats through in-game settings and other resources. They then invited the students to practice these skills with the VR devices by creating private rooms in one of the most popular games, i.e. Horizon Worlds and VRChat. This part was especially well-received, and some noticed that they had gained a new perspective on their digital footprints and the importance of protecting their identity while enjoying VR games.

All three speakers together at the event

Weiwei Yi, Anyi Liu, Dajun Wang had this to say about the event:

This event would not have been possible without the collective efforts of our collaborators: ESRC Festival of Social Sciences’ support team (specifically Dr. Eleanor Macpherson, and Ms. Natalia Popielska, with whom we discussed every detail through multiple meetings), the XRLab for providing headsets and the ARC Catering team for snacks, the Law School and finance team for logistics, and the teachers at Glasgow Chinese School. Additionally, we’re grateful for the support from parents who waited outside during the event, showing their dedication to their children’s digital literacy and safety, and biggest thanks to the energetic students who made the event not just a lively and fulfilling experience for themselves, but also for us."

This blog was originally published on Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy website.

First published: 7 January 2025

<< All resources


More Information