MMORPG BFFS!!!

Where did you meet your best friends? Was it in a group? At school? Or did you meet them through another friend in the world...of warcraft?

According to a recent study carried out by researchers at Nottingham Trent University, many gamers meet lifelong friends and/or mates through online role-playing games. The study is being published in the journal CyberPsychology and Behavior.

Here's a bit from a press release regarding the issue:

"Three quarters of online role-playing gamers make good friends with the people they meet in their virtual worlds, with almost half meeting in real-life situations and one in ten going on to develop physical relationships, according to a new study.

"Other findings to come out of the study, Social Interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers, included more than 30% of participants finding themselves attracted to another player; and 40% choosing to discuss sensitive issues with online friends rather than their real-life friends."


The study also showed females were significantly more likely than males to be attracted to other players, and were far more likely to go on to date them.

However, aside from the positive sides (proving gamers not to be anti-social), it does also say that one in five gamers claim MMORPGs "had a negative effect on their relationships if their partner was not a player."

Here's another bit from the report:

"Around a third of gamers reported they could be more themselves in the game than in real life."

Ah, the virtual world. It's like we're moving closer and closer to "Tron" every day.