Online gaming platforms are built for kids to have fun and find an escape from the real world. These platforms help kids get together under one roof and play online games together. Games are helpful because they allow kids to improve their creativity and problem-solving.
Similarly, games can be a healthy way for kids to engage in competition. Several online gaming communities have also helped kids come closer to improve socialization. However, at the same time, online gaming has also made them come across several risks and dangers. This has triggered most parents to consider using a spy app for Android and iPhone on their kid’s phones.
While online gaming can help kids interacts with their friends and peers in a fun way, it can also expose them to some serious online dangers. In this post, we are going to take a look at some dangers and risks your kid faces every day on online gaming platforms.
Dangers Your Kids Face on the Online Gaming Platform
Let’s find out some of the pitfalls your kid could come across in an online gaming community.
Sexual Predators
Most parents think that by making kids join more child-friendly gaming platforms, they can protect them from online predators. However, that is not the case because most sexual predators often target these types of online gaming platforms because they already know that they’re likely to find more children there.
Several online gaming communities such as Roblox has witnessed sexual predators making a way into it as it is specifically marketed towards kids and teens. Many families whose kids play Roblox games have reported that their kids have received sexually explicit messages, encountered avatars that are dressed inappropriately and engaged in sexually suggestive behaviors.
Now, this can be extremely distressing for kids and parents who believe that the online gaming platform is safe for the kids but in reality, it is not. These gaming platforms can be even more dangerous because they allow sexual predators to reach out to kids through private messages and befriend them so they can obtain sensitive information from them such as their full name, address, name of the school, etc.
You can mitigate the danger lurking on these platforms by doing these things: update the privacy settings, turn off your kid’s ability to receive direct messages from strangers on the platform and monitor their messages with the help of an iPhone or Android spy app.
Cyberbullying
There’s no denying that online gaming promotes healthy competition among kids. But it can also turn unhealthy when problems like cyberbullying and abuse start to occur. Cyberbullying is one online danger which is commonly found in online gaming communities.
The anonymity of online gaming platforms allows kids and teens to use profane language and hurl abusive comments at each other that they might not say if were sitting across while playing a board game.
The use of profanity as well as other verbally abusive language is quite common on the online gaming platforms. These cyberbullying incidents can cause the kids to feel vulnerable and threatened. As a result, the kids may feel lonely, depressed, and even have suicidal thoughts.
The only way to ensure your kids are not a victim of cyberbullying is to monitor their entire activity on these online gaming platforms. With the help of a monitoring app, you can find out whether or not someone is trying to bully your kid at one of the online gaming platforms. If you can identify cyberbullying at the right time, you can save your kid from the danger before it is too late.
Addiction
Not many parents realize how addictive gaming can be for kids. Some kids go far past moderate levels and become highly addicted to games. They stay up late at night only to play online games with their friends, disturbing their sleep patterns.
Sometimes, they neglect other important aspects of life and only focus on playing games. That’s how addictive gaming can be. If you notice your kid spending too much time playing games and not paying attention to their studies or any other chores, you can easily say that they have formed an unhealthy attachment to gaming.
If you want to break your kid’s addiction and want them to equally focus on other aspects of life, then you must give them an awareness of online gaming addiction. You must tell them how dangerous this addiction can be for them.
Addiction to online gaming is one thing and maintaining safety for your kids on gaming platforms is another. You should know what sort of games your kid is playing, who they are playing with, and how much time they’re spending on the game. The answers to these questions can help you keep your kids from dangers lurking on these platforms.
The only way to know these answers is to deploy parental monitoring software on your kid’s digital device including a gaming console. By installing one, you can keep track of your kid’s online gaming activities.
