Real Life Stories
Overexposed!
While playing on a Sony PlayStation, a 9-year-old boy became involved in a chat conversation with another opponent. The opponent began chatting with the boy in a sexual manner and sent the child sexually graphic pictures.
What does this mean?
Sexual offenders may target online games that have chat rooms including interactive online games and video games played on consoles with access to the Internet. They also use three-dimensional animated characters, referred to as "avatars," to engage children and youth in online conversations.
What can I do?
- Stay involved and know the games children are playing. Pay particular attention to games that incorporate a chat component - caution should be used before permitting children to engage in chat with their opponent(s).
- Be aware of all the contact names on children's Instant Messenger (IM) list and set the expectation that you must approve any new contacts added.
- Ensure children always get your permission before sharing any information or accepting anything. Teach children about what is meant by personal information and where on the Internet they may be asked for it.
- Some video game consoles come with built-in parental controls - activate this feature if available. Pay attention to what features come with your video game console. For example, you may not want to give children the ability to voice chat with others.
- Be aware of characters children may have adopted to represent themselves, known as avatars. Ensure children's avatars are age-appropriate and non-descriptive. Recognize that avatars don't have to represent a person and can be used to mislead children/youth.
- Check out our Popular Activities section for more information on technologies being used by kids and how to make them safer, and our Healthy Friendships and Unhealthy Friendships sections to learn more about how to speak to children about who are real, true friends both online and offline.