Video games are very popular among young adults and kids. This generation has seen both the beauties and the dangers of talking to people online through games or chat rooms. When parents let their children go online, they don’t always know the dangers that await them. There are creepy people, people with bad intentions, and just generally people who target young kids. The younger they are, the more of a target they are. The possibilities of kidnapping, stalking, or potential cyberbullying are a lot higher.
Virtual chat rooms such as “Discord” or “Twitch” are also huge hot spots for these same issues. The age restrictions on these apps aren’t taken seriously enough, because kids under the age of 13 can still access them by lying about their age when creating an account. Discord has a requirement of 13, and Twitch also has a minimum requirement of 13 also. According to Missingkids.org the nation’s largest child protection organization established in 1984, “One third of missing children encountered online are recovered in a different state,” showing that only one third are kidnapped and taken far from their homes, because kidnappers lure them and talk to them over time to gain their trust and when they decide to meet up, they take them.
However, there are many things that I think can be done to prevent this from happening, such as requiring evidence of age and thoroughly investigating backgrounds. There are numerous lawsuits against video games for reasons of grooming, exploitation, and even abuse. In 2024, there was a lawsuit against the game Roblox because a Dad of a 16-year-old found messages on his son’s phone, from someone he was talking to through the game, and had a lot of his personal information that a stranger should not know. They carried their contact from the game over to Discord, where they exchanged explicit photos and videos for in-game currency called “Robux”. Things took a dangerous turn when his son failed to meet up with the predator in person, “The messages Steve found allegedly included direct threats after his son failed to show up to an arranged in-person meeting, with the accused perpetrator reminding the teenager that he knew his New Jersey address,” said Steve. Steve was highly concerned for his teenager and wanted to try and put a stop to this. He filed a lawsuit against Roblox, and his motion was rejected. It was said in the “Terms and Conditions” that any mandated dispute “Will be subject only to binding arbitration,” since consumers are expected to read the terms and conditions, they aren’t allowed to sue because they clicked “Agree” meaning they agree with all of the terms and rules.
Some may argue that it is the children’s or the parents’ fault. But I think it is a matter of everything. Parents need to pay more attention to who their kids are talking to and make sure they know what their kids are downloading on their devices. I believe chat room and video game designers need to have real age verification and need to censor chat rooms. Another thing that could be done is that there could be age-specific servers and rooms.
There should be restrictions on video games and virtual chat rooms. Since so many young kids are online these days, there should be better protection and age restrictions. In conclusion, I believe that stricter age restrictions and close monitoring will lead to better behavior online and better safety among younger generations.
