check the chat project
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAMING INTERACTIONS
We’re exploring how Australian women, girls, and gender diverse young people experience gaming — and how those experiences may impact their mental health and well-being, whether positive or negative
GAMING AND THE PATH TO S.T.E.M.
We’re investigating whether playing video games can influence interest in STEM fields — especially how online gaming might inspire girls and gender diverse youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths.
HOW TO MAKE GAMING BETTER FOR EVERYONE
We want to understand what helps — and what harms — people’s experiences in online games, and how we can make gaming spaces more inclusive, respectful, and welcoming for all players.
Why this research matters
Gaming is a powerful and important activity that teaches vital life skills, particularly for young people. Online gaming also offers a meaningful way for individuals to connect, collaborate, and build community.
However, there is a growing global concern about harassment and threatening behaviour targeting women, girls and gender diverse groups in online gaming spaces. At the same time, these groups remain under represented in STEM fields — especially in coding, computer science, and the gaming industry.
Despite these challenges, there is a noticeable lack of gender-specific data about gaming habits and experiences in Australia. This research aims to help fill that gap and shine a light on the experiences of young people in gaming today.
undertaking independent research to understand
Who we are
The Check the Chat Project was founded by people with a passion for gaming and deep experience in both the gaming industry and Australia’s not-for-profit sector. We’ve seen first hand the rise in abusive behaviour directed at women and girls in online gaming spaces, and we launched this project to better understand how widespread these experiences are — and what impact they may be having on mental health, inclusion, and participation.
Why we started this project
Video games have the potential to improve attention, memory, problem-solving, and can foster literacy, creativity, and empathy in young people. But for many women, girls, and gender diverse players, online gaming environments can be unwelcoming or even harmful due to the high rates of threatening and abusive behaviour they experience. These hostile interactions can prevent them from fully enjoying the social and cognitive benefits of gaming, or even drive them away from online communities altogether.
The Check the Chat Project aims to understand how widespread and severe this behaviour is in gaming spaces and how this affects Australian gamers — and to explore what steps can be taken to make online multiplayer games safer, more inclusive, and more accessible for everyone.
Research from overseas suggests that while girls and boys engage with gaming and show interest in computer science at similar rates early on, girls’ participation drops significantly as they get older. We want to investigate if experiences in gaming and online communities affect this decline and identify how the gaming and tech industries can become more welcoming places for women, girls, and gender diverse people.
OVERALL ENGAGEMENT
Approximately 86% of Australians aged 15 to 24 play video games.
DAILY GAMING HABITS
At ages 12–13, about 36% of girls played video games daily.
Approximately 81% of Australian children aged 8–17 have played online games.
By ages 16–17, this figure decreased to 20%, indicating a decline in daily gaming as girls progress through their teenage years.
MULTIPLAYER AND SOCIAL GAMING
60% of young Australians aged 8–17 have engaged in online multiplayer gaming.
17% of young people who play games online have experienced bullying.
Nearly 50% have played eSports titles, which often include competitive PvP elements.
Gender specific data is limited - especially around Australian young people’s experiences with gender based bullying in gaming.
Gaming participation among young women and girls in australia
The survey
There is a notable lack of detailed, gender-specific data on gaming in Australia. While general statistics indicate that a significant portion of young Australians engage in gaming, comprehensive insights into the gaming habits, preferences and experiences of young women, girls and gender diverse people.
Additionally, while studies have explored the popularity of various game genres and modes among younger audiences, they often do not differentiate preferences based on gender.
Many women and girls who play games don’t think of themselves as gamers - if that sounds like you, we want to hear from you too!
This gap in data makes it challenging to draw precise conclusions about the gaming behaviours of Australian teenage girls. More targeted research is needed to understand their specific engagement levels, preferred game types, and gaming modes.
So we’re surveying Australian women and gender diverse people of any age who play, or have ever played, video games.
Follow the link below to participate in the survey.