Not Every Profile Picture

For many children, video games are part of daily life. But understanding how to handle potential dangers is just as important as enjoying the games themselves. This week, BEE SECURE organised its DigiRallye, a special event designed to teach children from various after-school clubs about the risks associated with online gaming. Through interactive workshops, participants learned about issues such as online safety, in-game purchases, and the dangers of excessive gaming.[1]

The programme covers a range of topics, including safe chatting, the threat of online grooming, and the importance of not trusting every profile picture. It also addresses in-app purchases, as almost all games now offer the option to spend real money. The goal is not to demonise video games or tell children to stop playing, but rather to empower them to make informed, safe choices. The workshops are designed to be hands-on and playful, letting children experience decision-making situations for themselves.[2]

To make the workshops as interactive and concrete as possible, children receive a set amount of virtual money in the in-app purchase workshop, which they can spend however they choose. They are then tempted with fake promotions, encouraging them to buy more, after which the consequences are discussed together. DigiRallye is aimed at children aged eight to twelve, an age group increasingly encountering digital risks. Many already have personal stories. One child recalled sometimes being asked online about where they live. Another added that they sometimes get contacted by strangers.[3]

The approach is the right one. You cannot keep eight-to-twelve-year-olds off the internet, and you cannot stand behind every child's shoulder while they play. What you can do is give them the tools to recognise danger when they see it. Fake promotions teaching them that a "limited time offer" in a game is designed to make them spend before thinking is a lesson that will serve them well beyond video games. The grooming awareness, the "not every profile picture is who they claim to be" lesson, these are the skills that matter. The children who already have stories about being asked where they live or being contacted by strangers are the proof that the threat is not theoretical. BEE SECURE is not telling them to stop playing. It is telling them to start thinking.[4]