Balancing Fun & Safety for Young Gamers
Maria Oliveira Tamellini, Co-founder and COO at GamerSafer, reflects on the importance of keeping online players, especially when children, safe.
Online games have become an integral part of young people’s lives, with 90% of young gamers reporting positive experiences in such spaces (ADL Hate is No Game, 2021). In fact, video games are what kids want most this holiday season, according to new data from Entertainment Software Association – 72% of US kids want video games, and 52% of parents plan to give video games as gits.
Most online games offer a unique level of engagement, allowing players to be or interact with exciting characters, tackle challenging tasks, and experience a strong sense of participation and connection, especially when playing together or sharing experiences with like-minded groups over time.
The benefits and relevance of gaming are undeniable and materialized in different reports (the latest one is the Power of Play 2023).
At the same time, as in every typical online world, all these possibilities come with challenges, security and safety being among them. Prioritizing player safety is a critical discussion and a necessity to guarantee that gamers continue to have fun online with minimal risk. Even though there is no one-size-fits-all, many gaming companies have created safety and/or family hubs to support that over the years. They are also deploying different tools to empower players and families to take control and manage their gameplay.
Reinforcing the alignment and importance of these efforts and investments, WeProtect Global Alliance’s recently released Global Threat Assessment 2023 sheds light on why player safety measures can’t be an afterthought.
According to data presented in this report, it only takes an average of 45 minutes for a high-risk child grooming situation to develop in a social gaming environment. Sometimes, it’s as quick as 19 seconds.
Delivering player safety at scale is longitudinal and a mission we share with many others. The assessment recommends different actions, and, as members of the Alliance and this Report Steering Committee, we are continuously contributing to discussions and initiatives aiming to prevent these issues in games. GamerSafer is also dedicated to making online safety tools accessible and easy to use.
We’ve made tremendous progress with games like Minecraft and Discord server communities by promoting ongoing discussions to empower developers and players to continually raise the bar.
If you or your organization is navigating the path of online safety and need help knowing where to start, our team is here for you. Reach out to me anytime!
And we invite you to dive into additional findings and recommendations of the Global Threat Assessment here. Let’s continue the conversation and build a safer online gaming space together.