When is my child actually old enough to have his or her own smartphone? It is not easy to give an answer to the question that is valid for every child. This is because, in addition to the usefulness of the smartphone, your child’s stage of development also plays a role in the decision. You know them best and can assess their media experience and general sense of responsibility.
You can find out when the right time is, how to deal with challenges, which safety settings you should make in advance and how you can help your child to use it as safely as possible at the virtual parents’ evening from Elternguide.online!
Join us live at the virtual parents’ evening of Elternguide.online and put your questions to our experts – we will provide answers and be available for discussion. The event will be held in German.
Date: 23.04.2024 | Time: 5 to 6 pm
Speakers: Sophia Mellitzer (JFF) and Sophie Pohle (Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk)
Moderation: FSM e.V.
Platform: The virtual parents’ evening is realized via the tool “Zoom”.
Privacy Notice: Zoom is a service of Zoom Video Communications Inc. which is based in the USA. We use Zoom via the German operator easymeet24. easymeet24 ‘s server is located in Europe. Furthermore, within the Zoom service we have chosen the configurations with the highest data and security protection.
Please also take note of our privacy policy. The event will be held in German.
Registration:
Steam is the largest international portal for online games, software products and movies. On the platform you can play and buy games. Gamers can connect with others around the world and play together. For this, you need to install Steam and sign up for free. This works with PC, Mac and Linux. Steam is also available as an app. The website serves as a forum for exchanging ideas about gaming and sharing fan content such as pictures and videos. Players can also chat with each other directly within the games. In the store you can buy games, but also within the games there are purchase options.
You will find countless games that can be free or paid. The platform offers a wide variety of games and genres. Young people particularly enjoy playing together with other players as a team. They also enjoy talking with others about their favorite games.
Due to the great variety on the platform, there are also games that are not suitable for children or can even be problematic. For some games, the age is requested in advance, but it is not checked. The community includes players and content from all over the world, so young people can easily get in touch with strangers. So-called trolls in particular can be a risk, because they deliberately provoke others, insult them and spread false news. Also, the posts, pictures or videos in the forum or chat may not be suitable for children.
According to the provider, children can use the platform from the age of 13. However, there is no verification of age. Spam, advertising and problematic content can be reported. For families, a family view is offered where parents can make precise settings and restrictions. Recently, there was a change in favor of the users’ privacy: By default, only online friends can see which games you own, how long you play, and which games are on your purchase wish list. Previously, the data of many users was publicly accessible, because only a few had set their profile to private.
Due to the large number of games and social media content, use is only recommended for older teenagers. If younger people want to use Steam, this should be well accompanied and common rules should be agreed upon. We recommend parents to use the family view. This is secured with a PIN. In a library, individual games can be defined and released for the children. Other features such as the community or the store must also be consciously allowed by the parents. The Player’s Guide explains in this tutorial how you should proceed.
The range of digital games is large. As a parent, you should pay attention to what the legal age restriction is for games . This can often be recognized by a colored USK label. It is better if you know more about your child’s favorite computer games. In order to be able to assess whether a game is suitable for your child, offers such as the Player’s Guide NRW . Parents have free access to numerous educational reviews and game descriptions of the most popular games here.
The information offered by the “Fachstelle für Jugendmedienkultur NRW” helps parents understand what their child is playing or would like to play on the computer, game console or smartphone. With the help of the filter and search function, numerous games can be displayed and found via the categories genre, the USK classification or the educational age rating. The game experience is described in detail so that you can easily understand it. The games described are tested and evaluated by children and young people for this purpose. In addition, media education experts evaluate the level of difficulty, content, and addiction potential. This results in an educational age recommendation for each game.
In addition, you will find articles and contributions about gaming and media culture on the site under the menu item “Family”. On the YouTube account of the NRW Game Advisor , there are Let’s Play videos and tutorials, for example, on youth protection settings for individual games.
The Fachstelle für Jugendmedienkultur NRW would like to support parents and guardians with its services in the area of contemporary media education. In addition, the NRW gamers’ guide serves to dispel the reservations and insecurities of many parents regarding computer and online games and to educate them about topics relating to gaming and the media. Since the USK and legal regulations are not comprehensive enough, the NRW Player’s Guide attempts to supplement them and enable children to use the net safely. As a publicly funded project, Spieleratgeber NRW is not allowed to advertise individual games, which is why the descriptions are kept largely neutral.
Even though the games are tested and evaluated by children and young people themselves, every child’s experience is different – even regardless of age. While some can process certain content well, other children may still be overwhelmed. For parents of younger children, it is recommended to play and try out the games together for the first time. It is even better if you try a game before you play it together with your child.
The website Spieleratgeber NRW offers a lot of information, but seems a bit confusing and overloaded here and there. The range of games is so huge that not every game appears in the database.
As an alternative or supplement to the services offered by Spieleratgeber NRW, the website spielbar.de also offers neutral pedagogical assessments of numerous games and articles on the topics of gaming and media.
Do you know Let’s Plays? These are videos in which people play games, for example on YouTube show. The Twitch.tv platform, which is very popular with children and young people, works in the same way in principle, except that here you can watch live how others play. For young gamers, the portal is a must.
Twitch is the largest livestreaming portal for streaming and watching games. The site is similar in principle to other video portals. Users can visit channels or the stream of a particular digital game. In doing so, they do not have to register.
Only registered users can broadcast the game they are playing live to an audience. They usually use webcam and microphone to comment on their own game at the same time. The chat function allows players and viewers to communicate with each other in real time. A game is often watched by more than 10,000 people. Those who have enough viewers can place advertisements. The proceeds from this will be split between Twitch and the streaming gamer. Individual channels can also be subscribed to for a fee, and there is an option to donate money to a gamer during the livestream.
The games most frequently shown on Twitch are also otherwise very popular, e.g. Fortnite , Leagues of Legend , Counterstrike and Minecraft . eSports events are also broadcast on Twitch. Most of the content on Twitch is from users, but there is also professionally produced material. Besides the main theme of games, other content is also shown on Twitch. There are streams for programming, drawing, crafting and many other everyday things.
On Twitch, young people can share their computer gaming hobby with others and experience it live from a different perspective. They can interact directly with their gaming idols and improve their skills in a particular game. For gamers it is interesting, because they can show their skills and also earn money.
Those who have access to the Internet can also use Twitch, since no registration is required to watch. Therefore, children and teenagers can watch streaming of games that are not yet suitable for them according to the age restriction. According to the terms and conditions, the offer can only be used from the age of 13 and then only with parental supervision. However, this becomes relevant at most when registering for your own streams or interacting with gamers. There is no check to see if the age entered during registration is correct.
Your child may encounter violent, scary, and sexualized content. For this reason, the Jugendschutz has classified the platform as unsuitable for children and young people.
Advertising on Twitch is difficult to detect. This is also due to the fact that more and more gamers are becoming influencers. Young users often do not recognize personal game recommendations as advertising.
The integrated donation function should also be viewed critically. When viewers transfer money to their favorite players during the livestream, the gamer comments on it at the same time. This kind of personal feedback can tempt younger users in particular to donate money using their parents’ PayPal account details.
Since users who only watch livestreams do not have to register, there is a risk, especially among young streamers, that (strange) adults will make contact and that cybergrooming will occur.
Twitch Interactive, Inc. has existed since June 2011 (at that time still under the name Justin.tv) and has been part of Amazon since 2014. So there is an interest in collecting user data to make personalized advertising. The privacy policy is available in German and states exactly how and for what purpose the service collects personal data. The safety instructions are also available in German. Twitch offers a reporting function so that people who violate the community guidelines in the stream or chat can be reported by other users. After review by a moderation team, inappropriate content will be deleted.
As soon as a video is clicked in which a game with age restriction is played, there is a notice. However, this can be easily clicked away.
Because of the risks mentioned, you should accompany your child when he or she uses the service, or at least talk to him or her about it regularly. Talk to him about the platform and look at it together. Research the age ratings for each game and stick to them. Also, make your child aware that as a streamer, they should not post personal information as Twitch can share it. Use the option in the settings to disable communication with strangers.
Boys like to play soccer and Minecraft – girls like horses and play Star Stable. Fortunately, it’s not that simple. The developers of the online role-playing game Star Stable apparently see things differently. The game comes only with female characters.
In Star Stable, players ride a horse across an island and meet other female riders. They can communicate with them via chat during the game. You’ll have to complete missions, solve puzzles and win tournaments. This will allow them to get new clothes and better riding gear. Up to the fifth level the game is free, after that there are different payment models for the full version: you can buy access to the game for a month, three months or a whole year.
In addition to the game itself, there are complementary apps to enhance the horse experience for girls.
Star Stable offers a large virtual world that children will love to discover. The course of the game is designed by yourself. The characters your child can slip into, as well as their horses, can be customized to appear unique. Especially girls, for whom the game is tailored, can live out their love of horses here. The graphics are appealing and realistic, so they can get the feeling of sitting on a horse themselves. The landscapes and colors appeal positively to children.
The horse game already has a large community. There are several Star Stable Let’s Play formats on YouTube. In it, players give tips and comment on their own playing in an entertaining way. There’s even its own animated series on YouTube.
Before playing, players must first create an account and provide their date of birth. There is no verification of the information, so you can’t be sure if only children use the game. Therefore, there is a risk of cyberbullying and cybergrooming – even if the chat function is set to be child-friendly. Inappropriate language, such as hate speech, can also occur in such chats and be unpleasant for your child.
The free entry into the game has the goal of getting children excited about it, so that they would like to continue playing. However, the cost of the full version is quite high. There is also a virtual currency called Star Coins, of which each player receives 100 once a week. JorvikShillinge can be obtained, for example, by completing tasks. However, impatient gamers can also buy them directly from Star Stable ‘s store. Star St able sets strong incentives to spend money on accessories. Especially for younger children and teenagers, in-app purchases are a risk to spend a lot of money.
Despite the many options to customize his character and the horse, it is not possible to create a male or gender-neutral character. Even though horses are especially popular with girls, most boys are excluded from the start. The game conveys that horses and riding are not for boys. Thus, Star Stable falls back on classic gender roles, which can make both boys and girls feel discriminated against.
On Star Stable, the game makers have provided information for parents. In it, they emphasize the positive aspects of the game, such as learning social skills and developing a sense of responsibility through dealing with virtual currency. It is pointed out that parents should educate their children about possible risks and dangers of the Internet. Star Stable rules were listed separately for this purpose. There is no age recommendation.
The game makers emphasize to handle personal data of children particularly sensitively and to adhere to the so-called Safe Harbor agreement, which is dedicated to the protection of personal data of children collected online. It also states that no information or details about the account should be shared with third parties.
Since there is no specific age recommendation, you should check out the game for yourself before your child plays it for the first time. This will help you assess whether your child can already cope with the content, functions and fast images. Due to the possible risks, your child should be at least 10 years old and should definitely get to know the game together with you in the beginning.
Talk to your child about potential dangers and how in-app purchases work. Set time limits so your child doesn’t get completely lost in the virtual world. You can find more tips on this in our article “Games in the family“.
Try to make your child understand that horses and riding is not just a topic for girls. Should your son want to play the game, encourage him to do so despite the one-sided perspective of the game makers.
Telekom’s cloud gaming offer provides over 100 games of various genres that are played online via an app. You can create up to five profiles and customize usage based on your child’s age.
If you decide to take out a paid subscription with MagentaGaming , you’ll have over 100 games of various genres at your disposal, such as sports, action, adventure, and strategy. A total of five profiles can be created with one subscription. Relevant for parents is the possibility to protect the individual profiles with a PIN and to set an age limit. To do this, simply enter the age in your child’s profile. Your child will then only be provided with games that are approved for that age group.
Through the cloud-based system, the games can be used from different devices via an app. The game scores are stored in the cloud and are thus independent of the respective device. You don’t need a console or a powerful gaming PC, but can play via smartphone, PC or tablet. Only one person at a time can play within the app, simultaneous use is not possible.
In recent years, digital games have become increasingly present in the lives of children and young people. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets make it much easier to access them, as you are often not dependent on a console to play online. Digital games offer children and young people countless possibilities: They can race cars against friends, build their own city, or solve puzzles. To a certain extent , there is nothing wrong with that. Your child is growing up with media and digital games are a part of it. They offer room for creativity, promote certain skills and can also contribute to the transmission of values – not least, they are fun.
There are digital games that are not suitable for children. It is therefore advisable to create your child’s own profile and set it accordingly. MagentaGaming bases the age restrictions on the USK age rating according to the legal rules of the German youth protection. You should look into these age groups and decide for yourself if they fit your vision as a parent. You can also find helpful information about this in our article on age restrictions for games.
