EMERGENCY MEETING

     BLUE WAS NOT THE IMPOSTOR

Among Us, a game where deception is essential and lying is beneficial, mirrors the fraud that is common in online dating.

   Much like Mafia, Among Us runs on the deception of one player, the impostor, whose primary goal is to kill while blending in with the rest of the players (crewmates) who are stuck on the ship. To win, the crewmates must complete a bunch of mini-games (tasks) or successfully vote out the impostor through emergency meetings. 

   While the game is fiction, many traits of the game can be observed in real life…especially online.

   The game Among Us and online dating are surprisingly similar. Here are 5 similarities.

1- Appearances

   Appearances can be deceiving, especially online. In Among Us, all players have the same jellybean-like physique and space goggles, whether impostor or crewmate. Because all players are identical, figuring the impostor solely on looks is impossible.

   In online dating, people are represented by a single profile photo. All accounts have to choose a tiny image to represent their appearance. Not to mention many people have access to programs, like Facetune, that allow the public to change their look with a few clicks of a button. This means that many profile pictures are not truly representative of the person behind the profile. This makes that fraud online is more common than ever.

2- Building trust

   In Among Us, after players play in the same lobby as someone for a few rounds and work together, they can easily feel a connection and friendship with their partner, which could end in betrayal. The point of the game is for the impostor to betray the crewmates. So while Red may have been innocent the past two rounds, that doesn’t mean he won’t lie and kill his “friend” in round three.

   In relationships, a similar phenomenon occurs. Trust is an essential trait that many develop quickly, whether online or offline. However, in online dating, people often develop trust without basis. After a few days of talking to a random stranger online, trusting them with private feelings or thoughts feels easy. Sometimes trusting strangers is harmless, but with online dating, trusting without basis opens a person up to heartbreak.

3- Over text

   Lying over text is an important tool in Among Us. Instead of struggling to hold a neutral face while lying, players just have to press send to do the damage. Lying makes the game more fun and makes the game last longer. While lying in Among Us is harmless, lying online has serious repercussions. Often leading to heartbreak or worse.

   Humans are naturally expressive and complex beings that want to communicate and bond with others. However, when talking to people online, reading other people’s emotions purely over text is difficult. In today’s society, “ok” over text can mean a multitude of things. “Ok” could mean they are happy, “ok” could mean they are mad, “ok” could literally mean “ok.” Figuring out people’s emotions is challenging without being able to read their facial expressions while communicating. This lack of facial expressions over text makes lying online easier.

4- Majority have good intentions

   In Among Us, typically ten people take part in each game. Out of the ten people, typically only one is the impostor. Meaning that only ten percent of the population in the game is the liar. Most of the players are working toward a common goal and telling the truth. These nine honest players, however, are all affected by the single “evil” player. 

   Online fraud data shares similarities to the statistics featured in Among Us. In 2018, there were at least 18,000 victims of fraud online according to the FBI. Many also reported money loss to fake accounts. In fact, total reported losses in 2018 due to fraud online was around $362 million. While online fraud has a large impact on people online, most of those who are online are not fake, they are just regular people looking for a connection.

5- Emotional

   In the game, players can get super frustrated when the impostor gets revealed or they die. Often, phones are thrown, curse words are uttered, and shouts are heard from another room. Players often get so invested that they forget that Among Us is just a game and that when they lose they can just play again. However, the fact that they can just play again doesn’t stop players from getting emotionally invested in the short ten-minute rounds.

   Online dating is similar but more severe. People on dating apps are looking for a future partner. It can be heartbreaking when they find out the person they have invested so much time, energy, and sometimes money into isn’t the person they thought they were. Unlike players in Among Us, people on dating apps are not playing a game that has no consequences. They are playing with actual people’s emotions.

   Online dating and Among Us while seemingly very different, surprisingly hold many similarities.  

You can find Among Us for PC on Steam and for mobile devices on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store