I bet a lot of parents have kids asking for games and gaming systems this Christmas! My son is WAY into Minecraft right now, but he plays it on the Nintendo Switch. He’s been asking about playing it on my PC, but I’m not ready for him to take over my computer or get him his own yet. I know soon he’s also going to want to communicate with his friends while gaming, which means I’ll have to take off the communications block and open up a whole new world of possibilities, and some of those possibilities might not be the best kind. Today our Guest Geek, Jenna from Kidas.net, is going to go over what to watch out for, and how to protect your kids while PC gaming.

The Dangers of PC Gaming & How to Protect Your Children

Video games are an important part of life for many children and adults. While they are often played for entertainment purposes, they also have many benefits associated with them. From physical to mental benefits, video games have also become highly relied upon for socialization in a time where everyone has been socially isolated. While I could go on and on about the benefits of gaming, you need to ensure that you are aware of the dangers associated with PC gaming. 

With children, tweens and teens spending hours a day gaming on their PC’s, they are exposed to many possible dangers. There are ways to protect your child from the dangers, but first you need to know what they are. Kidas is the only bullying and predator protection software for your child’s PC games. By downloading Kidas’ software on your child’s computer, Kidas analyzes in-game communication to alert parents of any potential threats or exposures your child has come in contact with while gaming. Kidas’ weekly report shares valuable insights into your child’s gaming behavior and gives you the tools you need to keep them safe. Let’s take a look at some of the most common dangers of PC gaming that Kidas can help protect your child from.

Online Predators

As we all know, gaming involves anonymity. When you log on, you can be anyone you want to be behind the screen. It’s hard to know who you/your child is playing with online. Many online predators lurk in video games. Predators use many tactics to reach children. They spend time in games like Roblox and other games to connect with young children. Children are naive and can be unaware that they are not playing with someone else their own age despite what they are told. Technology has made it easier for predators to connect with children as communicating with strangers online has now become “normal” in video games. Predators have an easy way in to begin grooming children through online communications. After pretending to be someone they aren’t, they convince children to send them pictures of themselves and in no time, they are being blackmailed for more. Receive alerts of any suspicious contact before it goes too far. 

Cyberbullying 

As if bullying wasn’t bad enough on the playground, video games in addition to social media and other online communications have allowed bullying to follow children home. Multiplayer gaming open space for peers and strangers to gang up on other players to cyberbully them. Additionally, players may be cyberbullied in private chats making it difficult to get away from constant harassment or bullying. Gamers may be exceptionally mean as they hide behind the screen. 60% of teens reported that they have been cyberbullied online and 87% of teenagers have reported witnessing cyberbullying. Teaching your child how to be an upstander will help them stand up for themselves and others. From being bullied to bullying others, Kidas will alert you of any exposure.

Privacy Violations

With the leak of just one password, a lot of damage can be done. From Robux and V-bucks scams to “friends” helping each other out in the game, there are many ways that privacy violations take place in gaming. Young gamers may feel comfortable sharing their information and end up sharing it in the wrong place. We have been alerted that players have shared their phone numbers in public chat rooms, gave out their email address and password, or that other gamers have broken into another gamers account. The list of privacy violations is endless. Going over what information you children can and cannot share in game room chats or online with their friends is important to ensure they protect themselves online. 

Exposure to Sexual Content

Sexual content is all over the internet and children may be exposed to it just by browsing the online. With that said, there are times in gaming where your child may be exposed to content that is inappropriate. Your child may receive a link to an inappropriate website, a video of explicit content or may view inappropriate sexual content within the video game. Whenever they recieve or view sexual content within the video game or through in-game communication, Kidas will alert parents of it in the weekly report. Recommendations written by Kidas experts will help you speak with your child about any exposure. 

Threats 

From blackmail to bullying, there have been many cases of threats in video games. Threats include threatening to hurt someone, threatening someone’s life and describing violent or sexual acts towards another person. Threats can be very scary and cause severe anxiety for a player. Kidas’ recommendations and alerts help parents to communicate with their child about how to handle scary and severe situations. 

Protect your child from the dangers of PC gaming with Kidas

Kidas’ mission is to let children play PC games while keeping them safe. As a parent, it is important to teach your child about being a good digital citizen. From teaching them about being an upstander to appropriate gaming behavior, you can help ensure that your child doesn’t initiate any of the above dangers. With that said, as a parent, it is also important to do everything you can to keep your child safe, especially when they are online. Kidas is affordable and works overtime to ensure that you have all of the information you need to protect your child from the dangers of PC gaming. At just $6 per month, your first month is always free. Kidas sends weekly reports that alert parents of any threats your child was exposed to, recommendations on how to handle the alert as well as screen time analytics. Use Kidas’ insights to better understand your child’s gaming habits and to keep your child safe while playing PC games.

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