Considering you can't move on Xbox Live for rednecks telling you that you're a fornicating Nigerian, it's pretty obvious that racial ... differences ... exist online just as much as it does in the real world.
That said, researchers often feel a need to prove what we already know. Paul W. Eastwick, a graduate of Northwestern University, decided to conduct a study to prove that racial bias exists in online virtual worlds. That's racial bias, not racism as some people are reporting -- the two things are different.
The study works by asking people for either a small favor followed by a moderate one (Foot In The Door) or a rather unreasonable request followed by a moderate one (Door In The Face.)
But while results of the FITD experiment revealed no racial bias, the effect of the DITF technique was significantly reduced when the experimenter took the form of a dark-skinned avatar.
White avatars in the DITF experiment received about a 20 percent increase in compliance with the moderate request; however, the increase for the dark-toned avatars was 8 percent.
So there you have it, racial bias exists, as if we didn't know. A fairly imprecise test, I find, but it holds some truth to it. Of course, I think this is actually fairly natural. People of all races are bound to have some sense of affiliation or familiarity with people who share the same traits as they. It's certainly not racism, it's merely how everybody is.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
6:03 AM on 09.12.2008
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What does this prove, exactly? That people who are racist don't suddenly become not racist when playing Second Life?
How do I get a job doing stupid shit like this for a living?
Here's an easier experiment - just roll a female character in any MMO and go around asking people for money or help. Compare results with rolling a male character.
You are saying that we naturally discriminate against people who do not have the same traits as them and are less likely to help out an "unfamiliar" person? Isn't that the definition of racism? "Discrimination or prejudice based on race"? Shrugging this off sets a dangerous precedent.
While I admit the study is flawed for several reasons, I just can't believe that anyone can shrug off the idea that we are all racist and it extends so far as pixels on a screen.
No it's not. I was not talking about racism in the article, I was talking about racial bias. Two different subjects.
Unless I'm reading what you are saying wrong you're saying that people will help out "their own kind" more often than they will help out "others". The way in which this ISN'T racist confuses me. Making decisions based solely on race is racism as well as racial bias, and you are saying it's natural.
At the VERY least you are saying that holding some kind of prejudice against those different from you is natural. That is both misguided and foolhardy.
At the VERY least you are saying that holding some kind of prejudice against those different from you is natural.
I think this is pretty much the case for most species. Its not something I want to be true but honestly I think it is.
But I dunno, exactly how "black" was the tester acting? Can you even tell?
The difference is that you say that it's bad, whereas the author just writes it off as something that is normal and not TERRIBLE.
Just because it's true, doesn't make it okay, in fact, it's something that everyone should strive to change.
I'm also not defending the study as a whole, because it's flawed to a sin, but the idea is the problem.
I am not seeing how racism and racial bias are 'totally different'. If you treat someone differently based solely on their race, then that still is racism to a degree. Racism doesn't always have to consist of slurs or physical violence; it can be far more subtle. I can only see racial bias as a more specific analysis of racism in general.
"While I admit the study is flawed for several reasons, I just can't believe that anyone can shrug off the idea that we are all racist and it extends so far as pixels on a screen."
I completely agree. Some people sure feel this way, absolutely, but it is a sweeping indictment of more than just that crowd by saying 'merely everybody'.