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Your support directly advances research, scales child protection, and accelerates the tools and partnerships required to build the digital safety net every child deserves. Every day, new technologies reshape how kids connect, play, and learn. Yes, this guide includes supportive steps and resources for families facing these challenges. This guide provides exactly what parents need to navigate these difficult conversations with confidence and care.”— Rachel R., Licensed Clinical Social Worker 🎯 This guide is designed for parents and supportive adults who want to empower their children to be access the internet safely from any device.
Explore our step-by-step parental controls guides for games to help you understand the available tools. It can also be used to create chatbots or fake profiles that mimic real people. Further, online gaming incorporates the free use of video and audio chat, as well as voice-masking technology which increases new channels of access by a sexual predator to a child. Donors like you power this mission, enabling us to share data-driven insights, build scalable solutions, and strengthen the digital safety net to protect kids everywhere.
Together, we’re creating a world where every child is safe to explore, learn, and connect. Every innovation we build strengthens the digital safety net that protects children. Thorn, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting children from sexual exploitation in the digital age, developed this guide with child safety experts.

• There is a dark side to the social interaction that can take place through these online gaming platforms including cyberbullying, online predators and radicalization for domestic and international terrorist cells.
• It’s a good idea to be aware of some of the risks and how to keep yourself safe.
• See open positions and learn more about our employee experience.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) can pose several risks to children who engage in online gaming.
• Find out how children and young people socialise online and what to be aware of.
• Parents should encourage routines that include schoolwork, physical activity, family time, and offline hobbies, ensuring that gaming is just one of many activities.

Online Gaming risks and concerns include the following:

I was experiencing a lot of turmoil as a fifth, sixth grader, transitioning into middle school …I found a lot of solace in online gaming… I finally met a friend, his name was Adam, I was 12 years old. Online games allow for a high degree of interactivity, where players can directly impact the game world and outcomes through their actions. 84% of teens say they have or have access to a game console at home.90% say they play video games of any kind (whether on a computer, game console or cellphone).

• Lots of games allow players to talk to one another while they play.
• Anonymity in the online world can grow from poor sportsmanship to targeting novice players and preventing them from advancing.
• Preventing online gaming addiction in children starts with creating a healthy balance in their daily lives.
• Some cyberbullies will target players directly with hurtful and harmful derogatory messages.
• Some of these games engage the player directly while others allow for a multi-player online experience, where players can contact each other in digital space.
• Together, we’re creating a world where every child is safe to explore, learn, and connect.

Frequently asked questions

Here, we take you through Virtual Reality, some considerations to take into account and online safety avenues that can help you support young VR gamers! Find out how children and young people socialise online and what to be aware of. Community is one of the many reasons that players choose to engage with different games for hours on end. Groups and audiences can gather around a specific game, character or theme to build specific fan bases that can interact with each other.

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Parents and caregivers need to be proactive and informed before allowing children and youth to take part in online gaming. To mitigate these risks, parents should set clear usage boundaries, monitor content carefully, and ensure that their child takes regular breaks to avoid physical and psychological strain. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, I can now simply machine learn someone’s profile and groom children at mass. These risks highlight the need for stronger safety regulations and parental oversight in AI-powered gaming environments to protect young users. If online gaming disorder is suspected, seek the support of a licensed mental health practitioner with experience in treating this disorder.

Every person who works for Thorn shares a commitment to do this challenging work of protecting children. Thorn is proud and honored to share that donors through The Audacious Project have committed $18 million of unrestricted funding to Thorn over the next five years. To achieve the goal of creating safer online environments, building safer content-hosting platforms is critically important. We develop victim identification tools to help find child victims faster and remove them from harm. As an innovative child safety nonprofit, we create cutting-edge technology, conduct original research, and foster collaborative partnerships that combat child sexual abuse at scale. Thorn is on a mission to create a world where every child can simply be a kid.

Resources & information about gaming

Some players are attracted to a challenge that requires a strategy to win. Some of these games engage the player turbosven directly while others allow for a multi-player online experience, where players can contact each other in digital space. First, it’s important to realize that there are a variety of online gaming options. According to a recent online search, those were the top queried questions about online gaming.
This guide to talking to kids about online safety includes tips for teaching kids device safety and choosing a safe first phone for kids. SWGfL’s latest article explores new reporting and filtering features from EpicGames, which can be found within Fortnite to protect players from harmful content online. Explore tech tools to help you find the right balance between engaging safeguards and building your child’s skills to use gaming features safely. Sometimes some players use the chat function to say mean things or try to distract other gamers from their game. Limiting your use of voice chat to only people you are friends with in the real world can help avoid any unwanted contact.
Ultimately, the focus should be on fostering open communication, strengthening real-world connections, and supporting the child in building a healthier relationship with technology. It’s also helpful to guide children toward games that have natural stopping points and avoid those designed to be endlessly engaging or addictive. Setting clear, consistent time limits is important, and using tools like timers or parental control apps can help manage screen time without constant conflict. Parents should encourage routines that include schoolwork, physical activity, family time, and offline hobbies, ensuring that gaming is just one of many activities. Preventing online gaming addiction in children starts with creating a healthy balance in their daily lives.