Teens “joking” about murder and rape in gaming platform chat rooms are a worrying trend, academics warn.
These alarming posts mark a growing concern that our youth are increasingly desensitised to violence and lacking in empathy, they say.
VinorraThere is substantial evidence, said Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) School of Psychology head Vinorra Shaker, suggesting that overexposure to misinformation and violent content contributes to desensitisation.
“Jokes about sexual and gender violence are increasingly rampant online.
“Even if those responsible try to disguise it as humour, the comments are a strong indication that they could be inclined towards, or have a disturbing tolerance for gender violence,” she told StarEdu.
Rage bait, she added, makes it worse.
Rage bait refers to content deliberately engineered to provoke anger, outrage, or offence solely to increase engagement and traffic, she explained.
“When young people are constantly exposed to intentionally provocative, graphic, or aggressively misogynistic content, their brain’s natural emotional defence system begins to dull.
“This overexposure mirrors the phenomenon of desensitisation observed with continuous viewing of virtual violence, lowering empathy and weakening natural inhibitions against aggressive thoughts and behaviours,” she explained.
For girls and young women, witnessing the frequent abuse, threats, and harassment known as Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TfGBV), which often follows these polarising posts, creates a pervasive “chilling effect”.
“Fearing they will become the next target, victims often withdraw, self-censor their opinions, and isolate themselves,” she added.
Vinorra said these situations are a result of a complex interplay of psychological, social, and technological factors.
The lack of face-to-face consequences and the veil of anonymity in online spaces reduce personal accountability, allowing users to express extreme views they would never voice offline, she said.
Agreeing, APU School of Computing head Assoc Prof Dr Tan Chin Ike said it is easy for teenagers to act and say things that they would not necessarily say in real life.
“The combination of anonymity, secrecy, access, zero consequences and unmoderated spaces allows them to do so,” he said, adding that chat services and messaging platforms were not designed with child safety challenges in mind.
Tan“The automated filters in place cannot effectively catch slang, sarcasm, coded languages, foreign languages or evolving slang, and users exploit these gaps.
“Combined with anonymity and no threat of any real consequences, this makes it easier for teenagers to say things that they would never say in the presence of adults or their peers,” he said.
While there is a perceived increase in instances of children being exposed to harmful content online, Tan said it is actually not new.
“Early messaging platforms like ICQ and IRC were also a breeding ground for inappropriate, harmful and sometimes criminal activities, including grooming, hate speeches and explicit content.
“This is mainly because all these platforms do not have real-time moderation. Any digital space without strong oversight will always have the potential for misuse,” he said, citing Roblox, a social sandbox game creation system that was meant to allow children to build worlds, as an example.
“Roblox is a gaming platform and was never meant as a curated learning environment.
“It was supposed to be a child-friendly game system, but most interactions are unmoderated in real time.
“Games like Roblox provide users with the flexibility to program and play games created by themselves or other users.
“These are what is known as user-generated content (UGC), and these in-itself are not moderated platforms,” he said.
Tan, however, stressed that video games and most other interactive platforms are not inherently harmful, nor are they the cause of these negative behaviour.
“The real issue lies with the space that the game provides for community engagement for gameplay, and the fact that these spaces are exploited for use in other things entirely non-game related,” he concluded.
What is desensitisation?
When children or young people are constantly exposed to violence, whether it’s virtual shootings in graphic gaming content or detailed accounts of real-world tragedies, their brain’s natural emotional alarm system dulls. This process, known as desensitisation, makes them less responsive to the suffering of others (lower empathy) and lowers their natural inhibition against aggressive or violent thoughts and behaviours.
Source: APU School of Psychology head Vinorra Shaker
Digital danger
My friends have a habit of sending me Reels but some are quite strange. These range from funny memes and trends to Reels of people getting hurt. After that my feed for the next few days started recommending those same kinds of content. I would see clips of people crashing while doing stunts and getting their teeth knocked out with bloody gums and other kinds of gory videos. It was creepy and I was very uncomfortable because of how these videos can bypass the community guidelines on social media platforms. The fact that it had no description or hashtag and was not flagged is worrying.
- Nasya Nazrul, 18
People are threatening others and spewing vulgarities as if it’s the most normal thing to do. Once, I was scrolling on social media when a follower reposted a story from someone else. It was about their interaction with a colleague but it included screenshots of the direct messages. The content was abusive. Reading the hateful, aggressive language confirmed to me that these keyboard warriors have no qualms being vulgar and bullying others while hidden behind the screen. I’ve even seen comments where the user is so bold as to threaten another with sexual assault if the individual refuses to perform a certain action.
- Hermione Ooi Yung, 21
I had seen a circular purportedly from the government which claimed that smartphones would be banned for anyone under 16. This appeared on several social media platforms, and it looked very convincing. Everyone around me seemed to accept it immediately, forwarding it, arguing about it, and adding their own interpretations to the content. I did not join in. I reminded myself not to believe everything and to blindly follow the crowd. Watching how fast the panic spread made me realise just how easily our emotions and sense of reality can be shaped by a single piece of misinformation. When the authorities confirmed the letter was fake, relief came, but the experience stayed with me. One carefully crafted document had stirred fear, division, and confusion. It made me understand how fragile trust in information really is and how important it is to pause and reflect.
- Isabel Lim, 14
I’ve become more aware of misinformation, especially with the rise of AI-generated deepfakes. I’ve seen videos using the likeness of prominent business personalities, politicians and other public figures to promote fake investment schemes. Although I recognise them as scams, I am concerned about the elderly and less tech-savvy users who may not. It is worrying because scammers typically target retirees or people close to retirement age with more cash in their hand. This group is usually not as knowledgeable about the modus operandi of these scammers. Because violent content and misinformation can traumatise, mislead or exploit people, Malaysia needs stronger digital literacy initiatives and clearer safety measures to protect young users. This will ensure all of us can engage freely online without fear, confusion or harm to our mental well-being.
- Daniel Fadzlan, 22
