BIOGRAPHY

Dmitri Williams is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on the social and economic impacts of new media, with a focus on online games. His current research projects include a study of networked game players and whether or not their social settings and contexts moderate the effects. One particular area of recent interest is voice networks.

ABSTRACT

The Social Impact of MMOG Play
Individual Presentation, Friday (10:45 - 12:15) in Hall of Ideas F

A growing body of research on MMOG play suggests a vibrant social universe, but there is a scarcity of hard causal data available on the uses and effects of play. Results from a combined qualitative and quantitative study of MMOGs will be presented that will address issues of community, social capital, social withdrawal, cultivation, aggression and civic involvement.