National Online Safety
What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Live Streaming
Like a lot of digital services, live streaming really found its niche during the pandemic – think of Joe Wicks’ at-home fitness classes, Billie Eilish’s virtual gigs and Miley Cyrus’ chat show, for example. Real-time broadcasting of video content over the internet isn’t solely the province of celebrities, however: anyone with a device and something to say (or show) can take part.
With platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Twitch all offering routes to a vast online audience, young people have enthusiastically taken up the baton – streaming on subjects from gaming to sports to live shopping (yes, really!). Potentially having strangers among one’s viewers, though, is just one of many concerns.
Guide to - Live Streaming
What Parents and Carers Need to Know About Among Us
Created in 2018 by a small indie studio that (at the time) had only four employees, Among Us has become one of the gaming world’s biggest breakout hits of recent years. In 2020, for example, it was the world’s most-downloaded mobile game. Its simplicity helped Among Us to resonate with younger players in particular: the game’s second largest audience slice is the 13–18 age bracket.
While the 7+ age rating, emphasis on teamwork and cartoonish, colourful graphics all suit a young fan-base, however, the game does carry more serious risks than betrayal by a team-mate or an untimely on-screen demise – with in-game purchases and possible contact from strangers on our #WakeUpWednesday guide’s list of hazards that trusted adults should bear in mind.
Guide to - Among Us