Online gaming is one of the biggest forms of entertainment in the world. It’s no surprise that gaming has seen an increase in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic with lots of us spending more time on our devices.
Online gaming can have many benefits, from improving your strategic thinking, building your problem-solving skills, remotely socialising with friends and encouraging team working.
This a good opportunity to remember the importance of staying secure online and protecting your personal data when gaming.
Get Safe Online’s campaign #gaming4good is looking at some of the risks around online gaming and provides advice to help keep your child’s online gaming safe.
Your gaming account (or accounts) should be well protected with a strong password, ideally one which you don’t re-use on other accounts. You should also turn on two factor authentication, if available, which will provide you with an extra layer of protection to prevent someone hacking into your account
From securing your devices to protecting your privacy, the NCSC has published gaming guidance which will help you protect yourself and leave you free to enjoy playing your favourite games.
Other helpful resources:
- Gaming: What parents and carers need to know (www.thinkuknow.co.uk)
- Online gaming safety tips for parents (www.internetmatters.org)
- Buying a games console for your child (www.internetmatters.org)
- Review of sites, apps and games (www.net-aware.org.uk)
- Get Smart about PLAY (https://www.askaboutgames.com/get-smart-about-play)
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