Home 91% of kids play online. Should parents be worried?

91% of kids play online. Should parents be worried?

2 min read
76

Think of the children

The internet is the ultimate double-edged sword. It’s filled with a ton of information, contact to cool people and wonderful experiences. Of course, it’s also an easy platform for trolling/bullying, access to predators and false information that has led to the rise of anti-vaxxers. Evil place, I tell you. Parents have reported that their kids play online, but they aren’t altogether happy about it.

According to research out of Get Safe Online, a third of parents feel out of control of kids’ online gaming. This makes sense considering that the most popular device for children’s gaming is tablet with 62% of parents reporting that their kids use these devices to play with the close second (47%) using phones. This means that the online activity is out of parents’ view, and probably out of their control.

The study found that 91% of parents say that their kids game online. Half of the parents polled (51%) worry about their child or children’s safety; a number that seems a bit low considering that 24% were unaware of the security risks to their children when playing online. It all seems like a bit of a mess – parents just don’t know enough about online security to protect their kids, especially when the younger generation are the ones who understand the technology better than they do.

While the advice is fairly common sense – talk to your kids, put security measures in place, educate yourself – I worry that most parents simply don’t know where to start. I know, how about getting them to play online using consoles instead? The games are better, and at least it’s harder to hide anything nefarious when it’s on the big screen in the middle of the lounge.

Really though, it’s a hard line to walk and parents at least need to be aware of the risks. As Tom Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online explains:

In most cases, online gaming is fun, social and harm-free. But we need to be realistic that kids are naturally going to want to play games with their friends, but parents are right to be showing some concern about a world they are perhaps not familiar with themselves. The risks range from downloading a computer virus, to bullying and even being targeted by an older predator with more sinister motives.

Retro consoles are looking more appealing every day.

Last Updated: July 21, 2015

76 Comments

  1. Umar

    July 21, 2015 at 12:05

    Agh, there is evil all over the world. If not in games then in some other real world scenario. Best to educate your child and start with a sound foundation. You can no longer ‘hide’ the internet from your kids so you gotta make em aware of the dangers that lurk out there. That said, you can’t just fully trust your kid either, just, best to find the balance.

    Reply

    • RinceThis

      July 21, 2015 at 12:06

      Totally man. Problem is many parents use it as a way to ‘babysit’ the kids. While they are watching tv or chilling the kids is off playing Hearthstone or whatever.

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        July 21, 2015 at 12:08

        Throw the thing outside. It can play with bears, wolves, or whatever’s there. Safer than inside & online.

        Reply

      • Umar

        July 21, 2015 at 12:12

        You see it everywhere. I literally heard someone say that “My kid is going through the iPad phase”…Kid is freaking 3 years old. I see this large disconnect between parent and child. Rearing a child is a huge task, one that an iPad cannot do.

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          July 21, 2015 at 12:13

          Surely there’s an app for that?

          Reply

          • Umar

            July 21, 2015 at 12:15

            LOL There is. It’s called ‘be a parent, idiot.’ it’s just a short video loop of Shia Lebeouf saying DO IT.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 21, 2015 at 12:16

            iDOIT 😀

          • Umar

            July 21, 2015 at 12:16

            DAAAAAAAAAAMN well played lol!

          • Matthew Holliday

            July 21, 2015 at 12:31

            give the app to the child and let it be its own parent.

      • Bagel

        July 21, 2015 at 12:16

        You see my baby cousin is now 5, he has been playing minecraft for 2 years. Not online, but in his own world, my aunt sees the benefits of it. but thats the point she see’s, she pays attention to what he is doing, alot of the time the parent will just give a device to the child and say “Entertain yourself”, only bad things can happen from that.

        Reply

        • RinceThis

          July 21, 2015 at 12:26

          Totally agree. Sad though, I see this oh so often with new parents. Working late? Never mind, chuck them onto the iPad and let them browse the internet…

          Reply

          • Bagel

            July 21, 2015 at 12:46

            I was lucky enough to have parents that were interested in the games i play, from young, my dad would jump on some Tiger woods etc.

            I had to explain to my mom what dota was, she still doesnt get it.

            But hey atleast they tried 😀

          • RinceThis

            July 21, 2015 at 12:55

            Winning parents! My father once spent a weekend playing Goldeneye back in the day. I had to remove him from it as he was starting to own me 🙁 Scars of a child.

          • Bagel

            July 21, 2015 at 12:58

            hahahahaha, the best was my dad and his brother jamming tiger, intoxicated. My dad made his golfer cpu controlled. To this day his brother still doesnt know, and my dad still cashes in on bragging rights.

            My ballie the ’99 troll.

          • RinceThis

            July 21, 2015 at 13:00

            That is brilliant! HAHAAH! I need to remember that one 😉

          • Admiral Chief in Skellige

            July 21, 2015 at 13:02

            EPIC!!!!

          • Bagel

            July 21, 2015 at 13:07

            future dads/ current dads taking notes.

          • DragonSpirit009

            July 21, 2015 at 13:09

            My dad was in a way the same… He always whooped my butt at tennis!

        • Brady miaau

          July 21, 2015 at 12:28

          I want to be like that. Give my little girl ever single tech edge I can, but be involved at each step.

          Reply

    • The Sten

      July 21, 2015 at 13:24

      Fully agree. I would ban microphones until they’re 18 though, for the sanity of the gaming community.

      Reply

  2. RinceThis

    July 21, 2015 at 12:05

    Yup.p Sad when kids these days know more about how to use a tablet than the parents who paid for the thing.

    Reply

    • Sageville

      July 21, 2015 at 12:18

      LRN2TABLET

      Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    July 21, 2015 at 12:06

    I’d be worried, where’d this kid come from, why is it playing Candy Crush & why am I paying for it?

    Reply

  4. RinceThis

    July 21, 2015 at 12:11

    I mean when I was young we were ‘babysat’ by the NES, but that was okay because the worst that could happen is you could lose your eyesight sitting close to the TV or you could turn out like OvG…

    Reply

    • Lothy

      July 21, 2015 at 12:12

      Ah yes the good old days of when u sat so close to the TV, u could feel the warmth coming off it…

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        July 21, 2015 at 12:14

        Yeah man! From the Tube TVs! I swear I used to spot an awesome TV Tan…

        Reply

        • Lothy

          July 21, 2015 at 12:14

          u know we showing our age right?

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 21, 2015 at 12:20

            You two be careful now, don’t want you to fall over & break a hip.

      • Sageville

        July 21, 2015 at 12:23

        Not forgetting the static electricity messing with your hair… oh the days…

        Reply

  5. Bagel

    July 21, 2015 at 12:13

    A simple solution.

    Parents should Parent.

    Pay attention to your child. Dont expect the internet or media or entertainment to parent your child.

    Reply

    • RinceThis

      July 21, 2015 at 12:15

      • Bagel

        July 21, 2015 at 12:17

        Excuse me? I dont do drugs.
        only weed.

        Reply

        • RinceThis

          July 21, 2015 at 12:22

          I was making a comment about what people are like now, look at the Kardashians, that is what ‘parents’ are now, horrifying!

          Reply

          • Sageville

            July 21, 2015 at 12:25

            Kardashian children are just props for their shows….

          • RinceThis

            July 21, 2015 at 12:25

            lol

          • Bagel

            July 21, 2015 at 12:40

            Its actually disgusting, and then the parents ask were their child found out about these words.

          • Matthew Holliday

            July 21, 2015 at 12:42

            cant wait for the day the child asks her about her sex vid.
            they need to livestream that shit.
            or atleast include it in an episode of the kardashians, that would be an episode id actually watch.

            watching her justify that would just make my day.
            or ruin it… either way.

          • RinceThis

            July 21, 2015 at 12:46

            Well when you have the brain capacity of a thimble and you are sponsored by your culture to carry on being that deep you are going to end up like that.

          • Bagel

            July 21, 2015 at 12:53

            Whatever happened to Parental Guidance, when i was merely dough, my parents would tell me to gtfo when shows that had the 13/16 rating came on, it seems like parents now are far too comfortable with what is shown on tv, completely forgetting that their child is a child.

        • Matthew Holliday

          July 21, 2015 at 12:28

          i find your tastefull use of kappa offensive.

          Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        July 21, 2015 at 12:21

        I think I am. I would suck face with her any time of the day!

        Reply

  6. Jonah Cash

    July 21, 2015 at 12:13

    Hmmmm… I don’t think my daughter will get on the net on her own device before like 10. And hopefully by then I have scared her enough with horror stories for her to not be an idiot online…

    Reply

  7. Lothy

    July 21, 2015 at 12:14

    Personally I don’t think I would want my kid to play online, unless under a controlled environment like a server im hosting. The internet has way to many trolls and I don’t think its a good idea for a kid to be playing an MMO which is designed to keep u online.

    Reply

  8. Dutch Matrix

    July 21, 2015 at 12:16

    I certainly don’t want my three year old brat to swear and promise to do obscene things to some other guys mom. He can wait till he is four for that…

    Reply

  9. Dutch Matrix

    July 21, 2015 at 12:18

    Hey Guys! I’ve got a brilliant idea for an add campaign! “Protect your Kids from Online creeps. Dutch is lurking in the shadows of the Internet Darkness…”

    Reply

    • VampyreSquirrel

      July 21, 2015 at 12:21

      “Do your children know this man?” *Insert picture of Dutch* “Get them off the grid NOW! Protect your children!”

      Sorry, couldn’t help it.

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        July 21, 2015 at 12:22

        GET TO DA BUNKA!

        Reply

        • RinceThis

          July 21, 2015 at 12:25

          HAHAHAHA! With John screaming that I would 0_O

          Reply

  10. Hammersteyn

    July 21, 2015 at 12:19

    Most parents don’t care regardless. Video games and TV are the interim nannies.

    Reply

  11. Sageville

    July 21, 2015 at 12:21

    Personally, my kids have access to a tablet, with no sim card.

    So they can only play with stuff I download, the article doesn’t mention age groups though so maybe this is more a teen issue.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Skellige

      July 21, 2015 at 12:33

      Same here, DATA OFF

      Reply

      • HvR

        July 21, 2015 at 12:39

        To be honest I do that more for the safety of my wallet than for the kid. Nothing like a couple HD videos to wipe out a months data allocation.

        Reply

        • Sageville

          July 21, 2015 at 15:56

          Knows that feel…

          Reply

  12. Nikola

    July 21, 2015 at 12:34

    I would love to put my two cents and blame parents that do all this and let their kids play with tables and so on but I am no parent so my opinion don’t weigh much:)

    Reply

  13. WitWolfy

    July 21, 2015 at 12:35

    Ive been playing online games since I was 12 using my dial up.I dont see the problem here. This is the anti social age. Heck most kids and adults dont talk to each other anymore, they just text emoji’s to each other and have phone sex the whole time.

    FML.. Where are the days when you actually had to tell a girl you liked her face to face instead of trying to chat her up on snapchat???

    #90skidmemories

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Skellige

      July 21, 2015 at 12:36

      Yup, dial-up.
      Pshhhkkkkkkrrrr?kakingkakingkakingtsh?chchchchchchchcch?*ding*ding*ding*
      5kbps

      Reply

      • WitWolfy

        July 21, 2015 at 12:38

        I always threw my blanket over the tower to make the sound softer just to find out years later it had a mute button in the settings… LOL

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          July 21, 2015 at 13:09

          I was using that one time, person msg’d me so say if I like the band I’m downloading from them, I should check out this other band too – still listen to them to this day. Good times. Or so a friend told me. Don’t sue me RIAA.

          Reply

          • Matthew Holliday

            July 21, 2015 at 14:37

            does south africa have anything similar to americas statute of limitations?
            considering this is like 15-20 years ago, i think you’re safe 😛

    • Matthew Holliday

      July 21, 2015 at 12:39

      “‘to her face” only applied 50% of the time, mxit was the other 50%

      never had the patience to get up to any mischief with dial up.

      Reply

      • WitWolfy

        July 21, 2015 at 12:45

        There wasnt MXit when I was 12, you had to tell a girl you like her and hope she doesnt laugh at you then walk away… WELL WHO IS LAUGHING NOW BIATCH?!?!

        Plus having dial up back in 1998 meant your parents had $$$, or so I thought back then. Seeing I was one of the few kids in my school who actually had it, so at least I had that going for me..

        Reply

        • Matthew Holliday

          July 21, 2015 at 12:50

          when i was 12, girls were terrifying.
          mxit only started well into highschool for me. suddenly they werent so scary anymore.

          Reply

          • WitWolfy

            July 21, 2015 at 12:51

            I discovered Mxit back in 2005-ish.. Didnt work great back then.. Crashed a lot seeing it was still in its beta back then.

          • Matthew Holliday

            July 21, 2015 at 14:35

            yeah 2005/2006 sounds about right, was grd 10/11.
            never really had issues with mxit, more network issues.

  14. Matthew Holliday

    July 21, 2015 at 12:37

    “how about getting them to play online using consoles instead? The games
    are better, and at least it’s harder to hide anything nefarious when
    it’s on the big screen in the middle of the lounge”

    ZOE!
    BETTER?
    how rude.

    although putting a pc in the living area serves the same purpose, and you still get to watch tv.

    if your child is a child, supervision is the answer.

    heck, this is a gaming community, the advice should be to show an interest and play with them.

    Reply

  15. Pariah

    July 21, 2015 at 12:44

    Honestly, the only time I’d be worried is if I was a lazy ass parent who didn’t teach my child the rights, wrongs, dos and don’ts of the internet. That’s my job. As a parent, we’re meant to equip our children to be able to handle real life on their own. Teach them, let them explore in a safe environment. How else will they cope when they leave home? Imagine if you shelter them their whole life, they leave home, not knowing a damn thing, and suddenly fall prey to everything you feared they would, just because you denied them that education?

    Reply

    • WitWolfy

      July 21, 2015 at 12:50

      I’ll take my kid to Katy Perry’s website and tell her. “There is your REAL mommy. She left us right after you were born to go live her dream to be a superstar…”

      Then observe her reaction…

      Reply

      • Pariah

        July 21, 2015 at 12:57

        I’d like for my child to not commit suicide or become a popstar. If I had to choose between them though, I’ll put the gun in their hand.

        Reply

  16. DragonSpirit009

    July 21, 2015 at 13:05

    I don’t know anything about being a parent but what I do know is that being one is already hard and then they have to think about stuff like this when games is suppose to be fun thing.
    When I was a kid it use to be the time me and my dad spent some time together and man I really miss those days. Innocent fun with family.

    Reply

  17. konfab

    July 21, 2015 at 13:26

    The best solution: play the games with your kids on-line.
    My dad was the one who got me into gaming. Counterstrike on old office PCs.

    Reply

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