Internet Matters and Sony Interactive Entertainment have joined forces to create ‘Press Start for PlayStation Safety’, an interactive quiz that helps families learn how to have a safer gaming experience online.
As the festive season approaches, games consoles will no doubt make an appearance on a few Christmas lists and with the festive school break, children will have more time to enjoy gaming. With this in mind, understanding how to ensure your child is safe while gaming online can be a daunting task, even for the most tech-savvy parents.
In the digital age, online gaming has become a child’s playground, offering them an immersive experience that supports their connections with friends through the use of in-game chat functions, multiplayer games and cross-play experiences.
As developers look for more and more ways to encourage positive experiences within the online community, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and other online gaming platforms provide parents and guardians with a number of useful and intuitive parental controls, such as play-time limits and privacy settings.
Research shows that 60%** of children aged 3-17 play games online, as it becomes increasingly important to provide young people and their parents with the necessary tools to enjoy a safer experience while gaming.
Looking to help them along their journey, Internet Matters and SIE have launched a new interactive quiz for the PlayStation and online community that parents and guardians can take with their children before they sit down to play.
The innovative new resource – ‘Press Start for PlayStation Safety’ – has been created for parents and children to complete together by asking a series of questions related to the safety and privacy features available on PlayStation platforms, as well as educating guardians on how to set up a child account, adjust security settings and playing time settings.
Aimed at players aged 7+, the interactive quiz will encourage parents and children to work together to understand good gaming behaviours and the parental controls available on the console; helping to create a healthy, safe and joyful experience for children while using their games consoles.
The interactive quiz also provides further advice for parents and guardians from Internet Matters Ambassador and child psychologist, Dr Linda Papadopoulos, alongside questions and prompts for parents, guardians and children to discuss openly together.
PlayStation Network (PSN) is one of many platforms that allows children and young people to socialise through shared play. It gives them a way to play, chat, create and share together while being supported with tailored safety settings to do it safely and smartly.
While it is widely accepted that there is a clear benefit of socialising while gaming, Internet Matters recognises the additional support that children and guardians need to do it safely – with the help of the ‘Press Start for PlayStation Safety’.
The content has been carefully developed so that it is relevant to a global audience, and has a downloadable certificate for passing the quiz, alongside a downloadable safety companion guide.
This comes as new research from Internet Matters of children aged 9-16 reinforces the important role that parents play in keeping their kids safe online – as 72% of those surveyed say they use a games console in a typical month.
The research also reveals nearly one in four kids aged 9-16 using a games console say they are not confident in knowing how to stay safe online. The biggest issues they face when using connected tech are spending too much time online (45%), spending money in games/apps (34%) followed by being contacted by strangers (27%).
More than eight out of 10 (83%) of children who play console games say they would turn to parents before anyone else for information about staying safe online – yet, tellingly, only 45% had done this after experiencing a problem online.
While only 61% of console players aged 9-16 say they would report content or users who make comments that are upsetting.
Ghislaine Bombusa, Head of Digital at Internet Matters, said: “There’s an increasing need to ensure young people stay safe online, whatever they are doing, and our research shows the majority of children would turn to their parents for help.
“Our interactive quiz developed in partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment makes it easier for them to know where to start to support positive experiences for their kids on PlayStation platforms.
“The tool encourages their involvement, making sure they are aware of the latest safety features and have the confidence to apply them in a way that works best for their family.
“It’s not just about how to set up parental controls, it’s designed to open up conversations around online safety and give parents more understanding about their child’s gaming experience.”
Catherine Jensen VP, Global Consumer Experience, said: “At Sony Interactive Entertainment, we champion innovation to create safe and joyful gaming experiences for our PlayStation community, including our youngest and most vulnerable players. We are committed to providing easy, intuitive tools and information to parents and guardians as they navigate their children’s gaming experiences. We are proud of our partnership with Internet Matters to further extend online safety educational resources around gaming to parents, caregivers and players.”
Parents can access the quiz here.
*Internet Matters Parent and Child tracker. N-2,000 parents of children aged 4-16 years old nationally representative of UK, and N-1,000 children aged 9-16 years old. Latest tracker wave: July 2022.
**Ofcom Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2022
