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Why do young people play online games?

• Games are designed to be enjoyable and entertaining.
• Games allow people to socialise with friends.
• Watching live streams and videos of other people playing video games or sharing tips with other players to develop their own skills.
• Watching your favourite gamers on Youtube or live streams.
• Lots of young people play games because they have nothing else to do.

What are the risks of online gaming?

• Being bullied
• Trolling, griefing or scamming
• In-game purchases
• Talking to people you don't know
• Being recorded during live streams
• Feeling pressured to behave a certain way
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Being Bullied

• You may be deliberately excluded from a game or criticised for the way you play a game.
• Other players may swear or use abusive language over voice chat.
• If you are being bullied you should talk to someone you trust- a parent, teacher, or sibling.
• Some games have blocking or reporting features to stop bullies from contacting you.
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Trolling, griefing and scamming.

• Griefers are gamers who deliberately try to ruin the game for other players. this can be called trolling.
• Players may also try to trick or scam you into giving up 'skins' or other in-game items by offering them money or hacking into their accounts.
• Some in-game objects are very rare so losing them may be upsetting to a child.

Talking to someone you don't know.

• Some games are meant to be played in teams or against other players, and sometimes players can be based in different locations.
• This means young people can easily play with people they don't know or haven't met.
• They communicate using voice, video or text chat. Some players use voice chat to discuss tactics or some games have chat rooms.
• Young people may also use other platforms such as Reddit or Discord, to learn tips about the games they play and speak to other players about similar interests.
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Gamers to look out for.

• They seem too good to be true. Do they like the same things as you? Do they say nice things to you all the time? It is great to game with people to have the same interests as you but sometimes people lie to build a relationship with you.
• They want to chat in private. Nearly all games have the option to 'chat'- you don't need to talk to players on Skype or WhatsApp anymore. Avoid private chats as people are more likely to make you feel uncomfortable there.
• They're much older than you. Gamers come in all shapes and sizes. You're likely to have fun with gamers of all ages but it is strange for adults to try and get really close to you.
• They put pressure on you. It is never alright for someone to make you like you have to do something. Good friends don't tell you what to do, or who you can or can't be friends with.

Be SMART.

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