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Understanding the impacts of playing games online is a digital citizenship issue. Although gaming can have educational benefits and can help you build social skills, there may be some digital and even physical or emotional issues which may affect you. Internetmatters.org (n.d.), reveal how gaming while remaining sedentary can lead to health issues such as “deep vein thrombosis” or lead to seizures depending on the kind of graphics included in a game. 

It is important that you are aware of some of the digital dangers that you could face while gaming online. Before you start reading through some of the issues, it may be a good time to begin reflecting on your own experiences gaming. Have you personally ever had an issue with gaming online?

• Cyberbullying/Online abuse

(Internetsinacoso, CC BY-SA 4.0)

What is the issue?

While gaming, students can experience cyberbullying or online abuse. Cyberbullying is a digital citizenship issue which can affect a person’s connection with others and has risen as a result of communicative technology (Paez, 2018, p.75). According to Kids Helpline (2018), cyberbullying “is using technology to bully or hurt someone else”. A study conducted by Fryling (2018) revealed that 79% of gamers reported that they had been cyberbullied while playing in Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOG) environments. This statistic is alarming and players should be mindful of being cyberbullied while gaming.

How may the issue impact a person?

While playing games online, cyberbullying or online abuse may happen through the in-game chat feature which can allow players to message, or in some instances speak to each other. Usually, players use this feature to collaborate to complete tasks. Other players may use the feature to cyberbully by sending threatening comments, harassing a player through a chat function or verbally saying hurtful comments. 

NSW Department of Education (n.d) communicate that “In-game text chat in most games has some kind of profanity filter built into it, so that players can’t ruin the atmosphere with excessive swearing”. This can be particularly helpful in eliminating some of the online abuse that can happen while gaming. Unfortunately, the voice chat functions may not be as filtered as people can say almost anything to other players. It is up to players to alter some of the settings around in-game chat including limiting the chat to those who the player knows in real life.

It is clear that cyberbullying is an issue amongst games. Watch the video to gain more information.

(BBC, 2019)

The video makes the viewers think about the importance of recognising online behaviours and how they may impact us.

• Amount of time spent gaming

(Nodstrum, CC BY 2.0)

What is the issue?

Playing games for a long period of time may be fun. You may enjoy the feeling of being connected to others and solving problems within the game by thinking creatively. For some young people, playing games for a prolonged time may develop into a negative habit. Players must be aware and recognise symptoms of excessive gaming.

How may the issue impact a person?

Although online gaming may provide players with time to unwind, playing for too long can impact a person’s life. If a player’s “work, school or social life” is beginning to be impacted, it may be because they are playing for too long (eSafety Commissioner, n.d.). Young people need to make sure that they are aware of the fact that gaming may be imposing on their lives. Excessive gaming can lead to health issues as well, such as disrupted sleeping and eating habits (Kids Helpline, 2019). These particular issues may then lead to other forms of poor health such as problems with physical health and the neglect of personal hygiene. Gaming addiction is a serious problem which can affect “roughly 4 per cent of children who regularly play online games” (Carey, 2023). It is important to realise the warning signs given by your mind and body if you are playing games for a long period of time.

Watch the video below about gaming addiction.

(BBC, 2019)

Some main ideas from the video worth considering includes being aware that there are issues, such as relationship problems or personal hygiene, in your life as a result of playing games, but not being able to stop.

• Privacy issues

(Infosec Images, CC BY 2.0)

What is the issue?

Privacy issues have the ability to impact your gaming time. Get Safe Online (n.d.) and Moallem (2021) claim that a potential risk of playing games online can include players “giving away personal information, including password, email or home address or age” as well as making us consider “all the dangers associated with online chat rooms”. It is important to make sure that you are behaving safely online and avoid giving anyone your details as it may put you at risk of harm.

How may the issue impact a person?

There are a range of ways that privacy issues can impact a person’s life. In general, gamers should consider if playing games on public wifi networks is a good choice because there is a chance that their details can be exposed to hackers, especially if a person has a weak password. Data breaches can lead to even bigger problems like stolen credit card details or exposure of personal details. 

Gaming companies can collect personal information, including details such as “names, addresses, credit card information for billing purposes, email and IP addresses, feedback rankings from others, digital images and personalized profiles” (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, 2019). If the company has a data breach, there may be people who can take advantage of a player’s personal information. Reviewing the game’s privacy settings often would be a good way to avoid issues associated with privacy. 

It is important to consider all these factors when playing games. Take a look at the statistics provided by eSafety Commissioner Australia (2017) about online gaming. Some of the results may shock you.