How to ensure children’s safety while gaming

DW (English)

Online gaming opens up a world of possibilities: Streamer BeaPlays witnesses this daily with her community of subscribers. She breaks down the benefits of gaming and how she thinks platforms could be made safer.

Transcript

00:00Guiding her fans through spooky mazes, snowboarding down virtual mountains or showing off new

00:06outfits, that's Bea's full-time job.

00:09The 26-year-old streamer shares her Roblox adventures on Twitch to over 100,000 subscribers.

00:15On YouTube she has more than 600,000.

00:19Bea sees the potential in online games to encourage strategic thinking and help users

00:25explore the world, even if they've never left their hometown.

00:41She says it also fosters self-discovery and expression.

00:45I have tons of community members who use it as a way to explore different clothes they

00:50wouldn't be able to wear in real life or feel that they're not able to wear in real life.

00:54One thing I noticed the most is that it really does allow people to explore queer identities

00:59because if you are somebody who maybe in real life you're not comfortable telling people

01:04how you're feeling about something that's going on in your own mind or in yourself,

01:09maybe you can explore that inside of a game instead.

01:12So how can we continue benefiting from this exploration and creativity, all while keeping

01:17children safe?

01:20For researcher Yubo Ko, parents play a key role.

01:26I think it would be a better scenario if parents and children can communicate and play games

01:33together.

01:34So even if they encounter a bad game, they can work together to figure out why it is

01:41a bad game and then what we can do around it.

01:45For streamer Bee, schools have a responsibility too.

01:48And it's crucial they stay up to date.

01:52The internet is changing all the time.

01:54And if you're not fully aware of what can be on it and the dangers that it can pose,

01:59you can't efficiently teach somebody how to be safe online.

02:04But realistically, how much can parents and teachers keep on top of all the latest trends

02:09and crazes?

02:10That's why there are calls for platforms to step up too.

02:14I think that platforms need to be more specific and strict on limiting those games to having

02:20proper age ratings.

02:21Forcing secure ID verifications can ensure that you are actually the age that you say

02:27you are.

02:28If platforms and parents take action, gaming can be both fun and safe for children.

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