A new survey conducted by Get Safe Online has found that as many as 37% of parents feel they have “no control” their children’s online game playing.
The study, in which 2,000 parents of children aged 5-18 were surveyed, reveals that, while 91% of the parents said that their kids regularly game online, less than two-thirds felt they had any control or involvement in that online play, and 51% worry about their children’s safety when they are gaming online.
That is potentially worrisome, since according to the survey, as many as 28% of parents reported that their children have made friends with people online whose identity they don’t know, and as high as 16% of those children have been verbally abused or even threatened by strangers during their online gaming time.
With the growth of online gaming among young children, particularly through tablets and hand-held devices, it seems parents are often out-of-the-loop as to how much their children are playing online, and what sorts of interactions they are engaging in.
Get Safe Online recommends that parents limit online game time, have open conversations about online risks, and educate their children in dealing with strangers whose identity they don’t know.