Gamers raised over $6million for Save the Children

[Ghost]

GamingForGood is an initiative to raise money for Save the Children.
Gamers all around the world took donations, and were matched by sponosors - They've raised $6.4m and will hit their goal of $6.6m tonight or tomorrow.

You all should tell your parents "see mom, see dad, gamers DO have lives! it ain't so bad" then send them this link:
http://geekynet.com/gamingforgood-gamer ... 6-million/

 

[Fergal]

I believe that gaming can be a strong force for good in the world. Some research has shown that a gamer is more likely to help a stranger in trouble than a non-gamer. This is a great story and I love reading stories like that.

 

[Ghost]

That's interesting.
So if it's a stranger (who may or may not play games), they'll help them, but if it's a non-gamer they're inclined not to help them?
Wow, it does makes sense.

Yeah I was very happy with this initiative. I am an active "watcher" on www.twitch.tv which has gamers streaming their gameplay 24/7. Since I watch people play a lot, I myself have seen a lot of charity stuff. Many gamers will put 50% of all donations towards a charity, etc. This is the first time that it's been done on such a site-wide level though! And obviously, it wasn't just on Twitch.tv completely.

I believe it was something like for $1 donated, $5-7 more were donated or something like that. It might have been x8, I'm not sure.

 

[Fergal]

So if it's a stranger (who may or may not play games), they'll help them, but if it's a non-gamer they're inclined not to help them?

Sorry no, that's not it. It doesn't matter whether the person in trouble is a gamer or not. If the observer is a gamer, the observer is more likely to help the stranger in trouble. If the observer is NOT a gamer, the observer is LESS likely to help the stranger. The theory is that gamers help people and do good in games. This then becomes part of their behaviour and personality and they are more likely to do the same in real life.

After seeing this topic here on FP, I bought and read Jane McGonigal's book "Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World", which can be found on Amazon. The book is excellent and if you are into that kind of stuff I think you'll love it. You'll also enjoy her TED talks if you look them up on YouTube.