Rising Number of Tween Online Gamers

February 17, 2011 1 Comment

This post originally appeared on www.kidsafe.me.

Older studies reported that the age of the average online gamer was somewhere in the 40s. But now, the age of the average gamer is 32. What does this mean? It means that tweens are entering the mix – and they’re most likely yours.

The overwhelming majority of tweens are online, navigating their ways through virtual worlds. 91% of boys and 93% of girls ages 8 to 11 report playing online games, up dramatically from just five years ago.

New virtual worlds like Club Penguin, Webkinz, Poptropica, and Neopets have appeared to cater to this emerging demographic. All vary slightly, but the main focus of most tween online games is two-fold:

  • Maintaining, dressing, and customizing your avatar (which may be cartoonish human or cute fluffy animal)
  • Playing games and communicating with other tweens, social networking-style.

With younger and younger kids entering the world wide web to “play games,” it’s important that they understand that the other players are real people. Most are probably who they say they are – just tweens looking for something fun to do. But some may be adults, and others may be trolling for personal or identifying information.

Of course this won’t occur to your 8-year-old, especially if you haven’t reminded him a few hundred times.

Recent statistics show that kids are exploring the online game scene earlier than ever, so you should have the Internet safety conversation sooner rather than later. Most tweens are playing their hearts out online and loving it, and it’s your job to make sure they’re doing it safely.

by Jenny Evans

Filed under Gaming Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Parents’ Guide to Neopets

February 10, 2011 1 Comment

This post originally appeared on www.kidsafe.me.

Sort of a Tamagotchi-Pokémon hybrid, Neopets is an online game where players earn and spend virtual Neopoints to customize and care for up to 4 colorful cartoon animals.

Neopets launched in 1999 as a gaming site for bored college students, and today there are more teens and adults on Neopets than there are on comparable sites like Webkinz or Club Penguin.

After registering (kids under 13 must do so with a parent’s email), players can buy clothes, food, toys, and even houses for their Neopets. They can also track their Neopet’s stats as they train it to fight other virtual animals in the Battledome.

Many people can and do play Neopets for free (there is no fee for signing up), but a lot of the games and items can only be accessed by spending Neocash – which is bought via PayPal with real-life money. Gambling-esque games to win Neopoints (betting, scratch cards, spinning a wheel) are present, but are only open to kids over 13.

Parents sometimes complain about the overwhelming saturation of off-site ads on Neopets.com – ads are easy to click by mistake and hard for a young child to differentiate from the game. (You can get rid of the ads, but only with a Neopets Premium membership that costs $7.99 a month.)

Unlike other virtual world online games, Neopets doesn’t focus on social networking. In fact, there is minimal interaction among Neopets players. The main form of communication is through message boards, which are open to ages 13+ only. In the message boards, players are represented by Neopets avatars and can “friend” others, block users from contacting them, or send private messages to each other with NeoMail.

Neopets messages boards are automatically filtered for profanity and overseen by live moderators. Discussing dating and romance, religion, or politics can be grounds for getting your account “frozen.”

Though it might seem like a child-oriented site because of its cartoon graphics, Neopets is actually most appropriate for kids over the age of 12 or 13. Not only does it require fluent reading, but some of the concepts involved (such as investing in the stock market) are difficult for younger kids to grasp.

by Jenny Evans

Filed under Gaming, Social Networking, Web 2.0 Tagged with , , ,

Nintendo 3DS Warning: 3D Harmful to Kids’ Eyes

February 7, 2011 1 Comment

This post originally appeared on www.kidsafe.me

The newest Nintendo game console is anticipated to arrive this spring, and it’s pretty different from other gaming systems on the market. Without the aid of glasses, Nintendo claims to create 3-dimensional effects in its new portable 3DS console.

But it’s not for kids under 6, Nintendo warns, because it could potentially damage their vision.

Nintendo cites research from child development specialists saying the strain of assimilating 3D effects could potentially lead to lazy eye or other vision problems in the developing eyes of children under 6.

Nintendo plans to include a parental function to “toggle down” the 3D nature of the game, making it effectively 2D and therefore safe for even very young users.

Regardless of age, viewing movies or video games in 3D is more difficult for the eye so it’s recommended that everyone (even teens and adults) take a break from the 3DS every 30 minutes to avoid headaches or nausea.

by Jenny Evans

Filed under Gaming Tagged with ,

Girl Gamers More At Risk Than Boys

January 26, 2011 Leave a Comment

Given the proliferation of teen gamers out there, Yale researchers were curious about what types of behaviors gaming was most often associated with. Out of the 4,028 respondents in the study, 2,064 of them (51.2%) reported playing at least an hour of video games per week. Here’s what they found about those kids.

  • Boys were much more likely (76.3%) to be gamers than girls (29.2%)
  • Gaming was significantly more prevalent in Asians and students with lower grades
  • Different behaviors were typical for male gamers versus female gamers

One of the most interesting parts of the study was that boys who played video games were more likely to have higher GPAs, never smoke, or never use marijuana. Aside from high caffeine consumption, there were no risky health behaviors associated with male gaming.

Not so for the female gaming set. Girls who played video games were likely to smoke occasionally, get into physical fights, carry a weapon to school, and have a higher body mass index (BMI.) To their credit, female gaming also usually meant never having used marijuana, never having drunk alcohol, and less likelihood of depression.

Only about 5% of the gamers surveyed could be classified as “addicted” to video games. But of those addicted, there were also noticeable trends: addicted boys were likely to be regular smokers, depressed, and aggressive at school, while addicted girls were more prone to drug use, depression, and physical fights.

Remember that this study can only observe the correlation between behaviors, not tell us what caused what. Video game addiction doesn’t necessarily cause depression, and girls who play games aren’t necessarily going to become physically aggressive.

But parents, take this research into account when determining house rules and acceptable game play for your teens.

This post was contributed by Jenny Evans and originally appeared on www.kidsafe.me.

Filed under Gaming Tagged with , , , ,

Is IMVU Appropriate for Your Kids?

January 15, 2011 7 Comments

This post originally appeared on www.kidsafe.me

At the top of the homepage is a screenshot of a shirtless man and a busty woman in a bikini top embracing in waist-deep water and staring into each other’s eyes with the phrase “Create your fantasy” underneath.

The website is called IMVU, a realistic Sims-like game and social networking virtual world purported to be for kids ages 13 and up.

IMVU players select an avatar and buy clothing and items to personalize its world. The avatars have adult bodies (not 13-year-old ones,) and virtually all of the female avatars are sexy and large-chested with suggestive outfits to match.

Aside from customizing your avatar, the real focus of IMVU is interacting with other players. Users can chat with someone they know or click the “chat now” button to randomly connect with other players.

Kids can block an offensive chat buddy, but there is no chat filter to prevent them from being exposed to profanity or sexually explicit conversation, or keep them from giving out personally identifying information.

If a player wants to get to know his chat partner better, he can visit their IMVU homepage which is unmonitored for age-inappropriate content.

As IMVU players chat, they can also make their avatars interact. Among more innocent activities, avatars can kiss, cuddle, and make out with each other (with a credit card, you can purchase a “mature access” pass where they can actually simulate sexual activity.)

If 13 sounds a little young to be engaging in this kind of virtual world, you’re not alone. Common Sense Media, a non-profit media rating site for parents, gives IMVU an “iffy for ages 15-18” rating. (“Iffy” means “somewhat edgy for the age.”) For me, what’s most disturbing about the site is the strong sexual undercurrent of the whole thing. The buxom female avatars in scanty clothing give me the willies, especially when I think that my 14-year-old babysitter could be behind one of them.

The bottom line: IMVU may be advertised as just another fun place for teens to interact and have fun, but it’s loaded with sexual innuendo that may be inappropriate for many children who are technically old enough to get an account.

Always be intimately familiar with your child’s online gaming and social networking habits. If you aren’t comfortable, talk about it. Some kids may not be mature enough for the type of content sites like IMVU are offering.

by Jenny Evans

Filed under Gaming Tagged with , ,

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