RMIT University researchers in Melbourne are examining how gaming influencers shape attitudes towards women in Australia's 800,000 tween boys.
Dr Lauren Gurrieri from RMIT’s School of Economics, Finance and Marketing in Melbourne has been awarded an eSafety Commissioner grant to investigate the cultural influence of gaming content creators on young Australian males.
Her research project, Gendered Norms and Gaming Influencers: Promoting positive and respectful gaming for tween boys, comes as gaming platforms remain exempt from Australia’s upcoming social media ban for under 16s.
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Most Australians aged nine to 14 play video games, with many reporting that gaming makes them feel happy and provides relief during difficult times. But behind the screens, Melbourne researchers say influencers on platforms like YouTube, YouTube Kids and Twitch are acting as everyday celebrities whose behaviours and attitudes hold significant power in shaping the worldviews of their young audiences.
According to Dr Gurrieri, gaming influencer content, particularly material targeted at tween boys, can reinforce harmful gender norms through a potent combination of parasocial relationships and algorithmic promotion. Young followers often feel like they have a strong personal connection with these influencers, even though the relationship is entirely one-sided. Researchers argue this misplaced sense of knowing the influencer amplifies their power to influence attitudes and behaviours around gender.
eSafety data reveals the scale of the problem: one fifth of teen gamers have witnessed other players sharing or using hate speech, while just over one in 10 have heard other players expressing misogynistic ideas. Dr Gurrieri suggests how gaming influencers communicate gender norms through their content represents a potential cultural driver of sexism and violence against girls and women, both within gaming contexts and beyond.
Dr Gurrieri’s research will examine parents’ and tween boys’ experiences of online gaming, with the goal of promoting positive and respectful behaviours that could prevent young males from embracing harmful gender norms that lead to tech-based abuse of women.
Professor Lisa Given, Professor of Information Sciences and Director of RMIT’s Centre for Human-AI Information Environments, points out that gaming platforms present their own challenges despite being excluded from social media ban legislation. Popular game-creation platform Roblox, which has 380 million users globally including many children, only announced new safety restrictions and controls in September to address potential harms such as grooming. Yet Roblox won’t be considered an age-restricted social media platform under legislation coming into effect on 10 December 2025.
Professor Given warns that with young people unable to access accounts on some social media platforms once the new legislation launches, more children may migrate to gaming platforms for online engagement. This shift makes parental vigilance even more crucial, as carers need to understand what content their children are consuming, on which platforms, and provide guidance on navigating gaming and other online spaces safely.
Professor Given’s research examines how people of all ages use technologies, including how young people and adults engage with social media, artificial intelligence tools and other digital platforms. Her work highlights the importance of understanding these emerging digital environments as children’s online habits continue to evolve.
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