ONLINE SAFETY – TERM 2 WEEK 2

Online Gaming    

Online games can be great fun for your child, but make sure you can help them manage the risks.

Many games can improve your child’s coordination, problem-solving and multi-tasking skills, as well as help build social skills through online interactivity with other players. It is also important, however, to understand what might go wrong and have a negative impact on your child.

How common is it?

81% of children aged 8 to 17 have played an online game

64% have played a multiplayer online game with others

52% have played with people they did not know

17% have experienced bullying or abuse while playing a network game with others

34% have made an in-game purchase and this rose to 45% when they played a network game with others

Potential Issues with Online Gaming

On the eSafety Commission’s website, https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/big-issues/gaming, parents and carers can find information to assist them with potential risks of online gaming for children.

Information can be found to support in the following areas:

• How to create a safer gaming environment for your child
• Is your child spending too much time gaming?
• Grooming and bullying through in-game chat
• Limiting in-game purchases
• Games with gambling themes

One issue that can arise when children are playing online games is that of in-game purchases.

In-game purchases – The Issues

Some games may be free to download but require payments to advance beyond a certain point or to access additional content not available in the free version — like special powers for a character. Similar incentives to buy may also be offered in paid games. 

34% of children aged 8 to 17 have made an in-game purchase and this rose to 45% when they played a network game with others.

What are the risks?

• It can be unclear you are spending money
  Not all apps or online games sufficiently disclose the point at which you are making an in-app purchase.
• Children can spend money without realising 
  Children using their parent’s devices may not realise that in-app or in-game purchases are spending their parent’s money. 
• It is easy to spend a lot of money without realising 
  You can spend a lot of money within a game or app without realising, because you don’t have to submit credit card details with each transaction. 

Talk to your child about costs

• Point out that games, apps and extra features can cost real money.
• Set a reasonable weekly or monthly spend for apps, games and data, and help your child track their usage so they can make good choices.
• Monitor what your child is playing; have them sit and play the online games in an open area where what they are doing can be seen by adults.

Use parental controls

• Ensure you have set the parental controls on mobile devices and gaming consoles to limit in-game and in-app purchases, so your child has to ask to buy additional items. 
• Consider keeping passwords for the App Store or Google Play to yourself so your child cannot purchase apps and add-ons without you knowing or set up ‘family sharing’ so any purchases must be approved by you.