Online interaction is becoming increasingly complex daily, and the gaming industry continues to grow extensively as connecting and sharing become more. The latter has seen an increase in the release of gaming consoles and video games because the gaming scene has evolved from playing with people in the same room to people across continents. The overall role is an increased connection, but there is an increased risk of pedophiles because in a world where chatrooms, private messages, and working in teams in games, individuals can mask themselves as other players with the sole purpose of abusing the children through video games. The biggest challenge is that most attacks are hard to note as the predators disguise themselves and do not use an explicit language, making it hard to track or identify.
The increase in the concern of pedophiles has introduced security discussions in internet crime and protecting children on online platforms where security institutions warn parents of the growing danger of game chat rooms. Because it is the job of the predators, they take the time and lure children into giving information or exposure to sexual content, which can adversely affect the children.
Characteristics of online pedophiles
Pedophiles are referred to as predators, and where children play the predator’s prey. One of the sad facts is that predators communicate with each other and encourage each other alongside helping each other evade police detection. Some of the characteristics of pedophiles include;
Most pedophiles disguise themselves as children and do not use explicit language– The most significant concern when it comes to pedophiles is that they focus on asking the children players for much personal information, which can include where the kids live, the parents, and where they work or how much time they have to play. The trick works because most children unconsciously give out information while focusing on the game. The predators develop strategies to bond with the children or to build trust, which can be used to exploit the children.
Impromptu propositions mostly catch the kids off-guard– Conversations escalate quickly when engaging with pedophiles who can be followed by cyber-sexual harassment.
Safety and trust in protecting children against pedophiles
Safety and trust exist as a content moderation platform that parents can use to protect their children in the online video gaming scene from abuse and other exploits that can have demeaning effects on innocent children. Below are some of the ways through which the platform can help in the protection of children in the online gaming experience.
Identification of the risks- One of the best ways to protect children is by knowing the risks and the dangers children face when playing games online. The platform can help parents identify the platforms where children are exposed to talking with other individuals on the internet alongside the known media pedophiles use to prey on children. An example of a gaming platform that allows for chatting includes the Legends of Runeterra decks, where individuals can chat with other individuals in different locations.
Taking advantage of technology– One of the most compelling features of video gaming is the equipment of the gaming platforms with parental controls. Safety and trust provide information with the support of the existing technology on how parents can participate in setting up video game controls. The most helpful feature in parental control available in all games, as described by Trust and Safety, is muting the chat feature alongside definitions of safety settings in computer operating systems which can be helpful strategies for protecting children in their online experiences.
The role of parents– Trust and Safety provides guidelines for parents which can allow for exploration of the games with the children with additional help on how to talk to the children about the controls and their roles as opposed to denying them access completely, which only increases the curiosity. The parents have an active role in protecting the children in online interactions, but alongside helping children stay away from online attackers, playing games with the children can be an effective way for parents and children to have fun together.
In conclusion, the safety of children in online interactions can only be expounded by introducing the potential dangers surrounding online gaming. Video games are a common platform where predators can attack children or collect information that can physically haunt them or force them to commit hideous activities through blackmail and other forms of manipulation. Parents can limit the time children spend playing video games and should not be allowed in rooms alone with the devices. Parents are also advised to react carefully when their children inform them of an encounter with a predator. One of the biggest mistakes parents make after children report the encounters are taking away the technology. Still, the strategy has been found to have significant flaws since kids can be pushed into an even darker place.