You are more empowered because you get to be seen for who you are.

These are the words of Link*, an online gamer with disability – one of a group of 15 gamers with disability we interviewed as part of our new study, published in the Journal of Disability and Social Justice.

Our study aimed to better understand what online gaming offers people with a disability. And Link’s experience highlights one of its key findings: online gaming acts as a powerful space of empowerment, largely due to participants having control over how they identify within online spaces.

A diversity of gaming experiences

Online gaming does have its problems. These include extremist gaming cultures, exploitative monetisation practices (including gambling-like features), and concerns about addiction.

But the prominence of these narratives can overshadow the diversity of gaming experiences, including the potential of online gaming to cultivate spaces for personal growth and development.

It can also allow people – especially those from marginalised groups – to creatively express their identity in a way they wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

Taking a closer look

We wanted to take a closer look at this in our study by focusing on the empowering impact of online gaming for people with disability – and exploring whether such empowerment extends beyond the online space into other parts of everyday life.

To do this we interviewed 15 people (14 male, 1 female) online. The study focused on young adults aged between 18 and 35 who live with a disability.

The positive impacts of online gaming come from the opportunity online gaming provides to connect to a diversity of people online through shared interests. One of our interviewees, Cloud*, emphasises this point:

There is a lot of disabled-focused communities that have gaming channels and I think it’s great because it brings the community together.

Our research found that the positive influence of online gaming on people’s lives wasn’t just confined to the online space. As Link told us:

I think there can be that confidence boost, especially if you’re good at doing something particular in that game, I think it can give you that sort of translation to the real world.

So, people with disability can take that confidence from online gaming into their daily lives, which is impactful.

The anonymity offered in online spaces allowed participants to construct and express an identity with great control – where a space was created that highlighted other unique parts of their identity, rather than just their disability. As Mario* said:

You can create your own character and just be who you want to be.

This was echoed by Cloud:

Freedom to express yourself and do things that you wouldn’t be able to do in the real world […] You can do whatever you want, you can feel powerful.

These comments speak to the limitations people with disability experience in society while also demonstrating how powerful online gaming can be. They reiterate the importance of having agency around how you identify made possible through the anonymity that online gaming provides. As Cloud puts it:

[Online gaming] has allowed me to feel like I’m just a normal human being who can interact with anyone and be a part of a community.

A sense of expressing identity freely and confidently without feeling isolated and judged. Ultimately, that is empowering.

Playing without limitation

Notwithstanding the narratives of harm, it’s important that people with disability have full inclusion in the online gaming world in terms of access and adaptability, which includes accessible interfaces and devices.

However, it is important to note that accessible options can be quite costly, especially adaptive controllers.

Gaming is a permanent fixture in our lives. It can have profound benefits for people with disability by helping them construct their full identity. We should ensure people with disability can play without limitation and showcase their empowered selves.

*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.