A new study from England shows the results of exhaustive research monitoring the social habits of MMORPG players. The research — carried out by researchers at Nottingham Trent University, and being published in the US journal CyberPsychology and Behavior — confirms what many of us already suspected: MMO gamers aren’t as antisocial as people make them out to be.
The group is saying that their research has shown that around three quarters of players develop good friendship with people met in the game. Of those, they found that about fifty percent of players went on to meet someone in the game in real life situations.
While these things are easy to believe, some of the statistics are a bit out there and surprising. For instance, one aspect of the study shows that 1 out of 10 gamers who meet in person develop lasting physical relationships with people they meet in the game.
Moreover, the study goes on to state that female players are significantly more likely to be attracted to another player, and were far more likely to go on to date them.
This information flies in the face of years of debate-hardened ethos developed by the GN staff. We’re definitely going to need to see a second study from a separate group that collaborates this information. In the meantime, time to log back on to WoW — just in case.
