by Tim Southern
More and more of our everyday life takes place online. This is especially true for our leisure time. More than half of Australians now play computer games regularly – and that doesn’t even include players on other consoles.
This has led to an ever-increasing range of online games for children and young people. These games are a great way to pass the time, and they can often help children develop their skills. Unfortunately, there are also some increasing dangers. In the following article, we will tell you what the 6 biggest dangers of online gaming are and how you can best protect your child from them.
Dangers of online gaming
More and more children are playing online: 39% of children aged 12 to 13 play on a console or computer every day! However, despite the concerns of many parents, the game itself is not a problem in most cases. On the contrary, many games develop children’s imagination, motor skills, logical thinking and memory.
Most dangers in games actually come from external sources. It is worth noting that the Internet is not only a dangerous place for children. There are many cases when adults become victims of online criminals.
The main types of danger on the Internet are the following:
- Theft and cybercrime
- The Internet does not forget
- Fraud
- Addiction and dependence
- Cyberbullying
- Abuse on the Internet
In the following paragraphs, we explain the relevant facts about the different dangers and how you can best protect young ones from them. Playing safely online is indeed possible if you follow the right tips.
Theft and cybercrime
Children are exposed to the same dangers of cybercrime as adults when playing online. Hackers often target children with methods such as malware, phishing emails or Trojans because they are often less careful. When you consider how successfully these methods are used against even large international corporations, it becomes clear that your child is at high risk here.
Therefore, teach your kid the basic safety rules on the Internet. Among other things, this includes never giving passwords or log-in data to other people. Links or content from unknown senders should not be opened, and public networks should be avoided.
In addition, you should always know exactly which providers your child plays with and how trustworthy the provider is. This is because many gaming portals are used to retrieve sensitive data such as account or log-in details. Hackers then use these details to steal data and money. If you or your child would like to play online, you should therefore definitely choose reliable sites holding a license like https://www.richardcasino3.com/.
The Internet does not forget
When your child starts to be active on the Internet, there is one thing you must always remember: the Internet does not forget. Your child needs to understand that everything that is ever posted or uploaded online is stored somewhere forever. This is especially true for content that is accessible to other Internet users.
A harmless (from the child’s point of view) photo, saying or posting can have serious consequences in the later years of life. Therefore, teach your child to use the Internet responsibly and not to post anything that could become a problem later on. Strict prohibitions often have the opposite effect. Instead, kindly explain to your child why Internet content can be dangerous and what things are allowed to be posted.
Fraud
Unfortunately, there is also a lot of fraud on the Internet. In particular, perpetrators may ask your child to make a payment in order to receive a promotion or to advance in a game. Even entire websites can be run for the sole purpose of a scam.
Of course, an offer like playing for free can also be completely legitimate. However, it is advisable to check offers first before making a payment or releasing private data.
Addiction and dependence
In 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined gaming disorder, i.e. game addiction, as a medical condition. Nevertheless, many parents often worry too quickly that their child is addicted to online games if they spend a lot of time in front of a PC or console. In most cases, this is only a phase that will pass when gaming is replaced by another hobby.
Parents should only worry when children spend so much time gaming that important everyday things and relationships with friends suffer. Parents should also intervene if the child is permanently overtired because of gaming.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is also a real danger when playing online. The best methods against it are similar to the methods against abuse on the internet. Teach your child to defend themselves against abusive behaviour and, above all, make sure that your child can always talk openly to you about problems. In addition, it is also important for protection against cyberbullying that you always know exactly with whom your child communicates online so that you can intervene in time in case of danger.
Abuse on the Internet
As a parent, you would prefer not to think about child abuse at all. However, this can be dangerous, especially when it comes to online gaming. Because just as our everyday life has changed due to advancing digitalisation, the behaviour of the perpetrators has also changed. They no longer lie in wait for their victims on the way to school but on the internet.
Abuse can occur once through digital media, for example, by sending photos and videos. Much more frequently, however, paedophiles use the Internet for the so-called “grooming” of their victims. This term refers to a process in which perpetrators gain the trust of children in order to then sexually abuse them.
The perpetrators use various strategies to do this. For example, some paedophiles pretend to be friends of the same age in order to establish a connection between themselves and the child. Other perpetrators claim to be fashion photographers, talent scouts or owners of gaming teams in order to get in contact with the children.
The perpetrators not only use social platforms such as Facebook and TikTok but increasingly also the chat rooms of supposed children’s games such as Roblox. The goal is always the same: to build up enough trust with a child to get photos from them or to get the child to meet them.
To protect their kids from this, many parents resort to a general internet ban. But this is the wrong way. In our digital world, the child will sooner or later find access to the Internet – but then he or she won’t be able to talk to you about it, because after all you have forbidden it. This makes it particularly easy for perpetrators.
Instead, it is crucial that you talk to your child openly and honestly about the dangers of the Internet – even if this may be uncomfortable. Explain to your child that there are not only good people on the Internet. Above all, make it clear that your child can talk to you about anything at any time. Even and especially if they feel they have done something wrong themselves.
In addition, impress upon your child never to agree to meet strangers or to send them private data such as your address, photos or mobile phone number. If an Internet acquaintance asks for this, your child should inform you immediately.
Also, teach your child how to react if they feel they are getting into an uncomfortable situation. Statements such as “No, I don’t want to do that”, “What you are doing is forbidden”, or “I will tell my parents / the police” will deter offenders and make it clear that your child is not an easy target. In this case, too, your child should notify you immediately afterwards.
The role of parents
In addition to these rules of conduct for your child, it is also extremely important that you are aware of all of your child’s online activities. You need to know exactly what games your child is playing, what platforms they are using and who they are in contact with there. This is by no means an invasion of the child’s privacy, but an indispensable protective mechanism to keep your child safe from sexual violence.
Because just as you would not leave your child unsupervised with a strange adult, you should not leave your child unsupervised online. By the way, this also includes having the passwords of all your child’s accounts so that you can intervene in case of doubt before your child becomes a victim.
