Gaming with intelligence

rabiakhatun

The majority – 60% – of adults do not use control tools on the computer used by their child, according to a study by the HD Artel agency. The lack of parental control on a home network can lead to serious consequences. For example, children may encounter destructive content, become victims of cyberbullying and cybercrimes, or content writing service malware may be installed on the computer, Lyudmila Kurovskaya, director of the Center for Legal Assistance to Citizens in the Digital Environment of the Main Radio Frequency Center (created in 2021 on the initiative of Roskomnadzor), told RSpectr.

Children, often trusting, naive, and nimble, do not notice the catch, noted Alina Pavlova, head of game design and game development at Synergy University, in a conversation with RSpectr.

The founder and producer of the company "ROBBO" Pavel Frolov told RSpectr how, thanks to computer games, scammers use young gamers for their own interests.



– Often, children download a virus during a game instead of the necessary file. Or they respond to various baits from scammers, for example, an offer to upgrade their status. Then they receive an SMS asking them to send a code. In addition, criminals often offer minors to buy resources by sending them messages during the game.

HD Artel analysts have found that two-thirds of parents allow their children to decide for themselves which online games to choose. While adults are in the dark, a child can communicate in games just like in a regular social network, with anyone. These could be scammers, maniacs or extremists, Nikita Pavlukhin, an expert at the Safe Internet League, told RSpectr. According to him,

There have been cases where criminal organizations have recruited children and teenagers into their ranks through online games.

Lyudmila Kurovskaya noted that content of non-obvious nature, encouraging suicide or justifying the admissibility of violence, denying family values, and promoting non-traditional sexual relations also poses a serious danger in the gaming environment.

Lyudmila Kurovskaya, Legal Aid Center:

– Such content in a game form veils information prohibited by law in such a way that it is difficult to identify. Therefore, parents and teachers often do not understand why children, having got into game chats or thematic groups, are so easily and quickly imbued with destructive ideas and so easily accept them.

There are many risks for teenagers who play online games. They can manifest themselves physically as fatigue, carpal tunnel syndrome, eye strain, and obesity. They can have social consequences, such as alienation from family and friends, and psychological consequences, such as depression or anxiety, explained Ekaterina Starostina, an expert in cybersecurity at Webmonitorex, to RSpectr.

It is extremely important to control the amount of time a child spends in applications, web developer Stanislav Murakhovsky, who is raising a daughter alone, confirmed to RSpectr. Otherwise, according to him, the child moves away from reality, becomes inadequate and uncontrollable, and his perception of the world around him is distorted.