Support, Divide, Defend: Why Game Communities Form, Argue, and Unite

Exploring the complex and contentious world of fan culture.

By: Steve Watts
August 17, 2011

The Internet has created a boom of gaming culture. What was once the purview of playgrounds and bus stops has evolved into a complex virtual social structure, complete with its own allegiances and subcultures. How we relate to each other in this community has also grown, and we see this manifest itself in three key areas: supporting each other, arguing amongst each other, and rising together against external threats.

These behaviors aren’t unusual; they’re actually a natural extension of human behavior that we’ve seen and observed through the scientific method for years. To gain more insight on cultural norms, I talked to Karen Cerulo, chair of the sociology department at Rutgers University.