13+ R withparental permission
Twitch What parents need to know Twitch is agaming-focussed live-streamingservice, ownedbyAmazon, whereyoucanwatchothersplaygames liveand listen tocommentaryas theyplay. It has15milliondailyactiveusers andmore than threemillion people livebroadcast videogame streams andother content onTwitch,
withchannelsdedicated to just about everypopular videogame imaginable–bothmodernand retro.Therearealsoshows that feature gamingcompetitions, professional tournaments, game-relatedchat and news. Plus, numerousnon-gamingchannels coveringeverything from cookeryandmusic toart and travel. ButTwitch isnot just about watchingotherpeople's shows –anyonecanbroadcast their own gamingaction.
Top Tips for Parents
THERISK!POTENTIALCOSTS By default, Twitch is ad-supported, but there is a monthly subscription option – called Twitch Turbo – that o"ers an ad-free experience. On top of this, it is possible to subscribe to individual channels, and each one is chargeable individually. There’s also Twitch Prime, a premium experience included with the Amazon Prime and Prime Video subscription memberships, which o"ers bonus games and exclusive in-game content and Twitch Merch – an online store o"ering merchandise, such as T-shirts and hoodies. Twitch Bits is a virtual currency that gives your child the power to encourage and show support for streamers – through ‘cheers’ – and get attention in chat through animated emoticons. Bits cost real money and there’s one option to buy 25,000 Bits for £288. It's easy to see how costs could very quickly mount up the more involved your child gets into Twitch. Take steps to restrict access to your credit/debit card, as well as your PayPal account, to avoid getting hit by a large bill. If you are able to access your child's Twitch account, it is possible to check their purchase history, so you can see if they are spending too much money on subscriptions or donations. Explain to your child that subscribing to channels and purchasing Bits for cheers is optional, and that they can watch and enjoy a streamwithout doing either. THERISK!TWITCHEMOTES Twitch’s interactive chat feature is littered with emoticons or ‘emotes’, which for #rst time users will be completely bewildering. They typically feature faces of notable streamers, Twitch employees or #ctional characters, such as a grey-scale photograph of a game developer known as Kappa, which is often used in Twitch chat as a symbol of sarcasm or mockery. Your child may be upset or sensitive if they are the target of negative emotes while chatting with other gamers, or they may #nd some emoticons o"ensive. What parents can do Chat to your child about how they use Twitch and show an interest in understanding how it works. There are lots of online guides to Twitch emotes if you really want to get clued up on what your child is talking about in chats. Twitch’s terms of service dictate that emotes must not be used for harassment – de#ned by ‘targeted insults, defamation, intimidation, and threats of any nature’. If your child #nds an emoticon that violates guidelines, they can report it via the ‘User Report’ tool. Channel owners can also add speci#c emotes to their ‘Channel BannedWords’ list. What parents can do
THERISK!VIOLENTGAMES& ADULTCONTENT Like so many websites, Twitch does not allow children under the age of 13 to create an account, but in practice, there's nothing to stop anyone signing up by simply entering a false date of birth. In addition to swearing, commentary provided by other Twitch users may well contain adult content, and the games themselves can be rather violent. Bear in mind that many of the games on the market these days have an age rating of 18, and this is indicative of the bad language, sexual content and violence that they may contain. There is nothing that can be done to prevent your child from accessing whatever channel they want – short of using your router settings or parental control software to block access to the site completely. One of the problems with Twitch is that while there is plenty of child-friendly content out there, it is not at all easy to quickly identify what might not be suitable. Spend some time working with your child to help identify channels that will be appropriate for them. While it may be hard to ensure they stick to these channels, it is useful for them to know that there is content available that is not overtly adult in nature. What parents can do THERISK!WEBCAMSHARING As well as seeing streaming footage of games, Twitch also lets users share their webcam, so people can see them. This gives yet another way for people to share inappropriate content, and it also gives another way for streamers to subject your child to advertising, sponsored content and product placement. consuming and intervene if anything inappropriate crops up. As part of your conversations with your child about what is appropriate to share online, try to educate them about careful use of their own webcam if they choose to stream their own gaming. As well as ensuring they are not encouraged into doing anything inappropriate on camera, it is also important to check that anything that can be used to identify them is not included in shot. What parents can do Getting involved in your child's use of Twitch is the best way to keep an eye on the sort of content they are
THERISK! IT’SLIVE&UNCENSORED As gamers get engrossed in their games, it is very common to hear rather choice words, so the chance of your child encountering swear words and bad language is extremely high. There is not only the language of the person running the stream that you need to consider, but also the language of other Twitch users in the text-based chat that accompanies streams. There's not much you can do to reduce exposure to bad language on Twitch, but if there are any troublesome users, it is possible to block them. It is a good idea to spend a little time with your child as they explore di"erent channels on the platform, as this will give you an idea of the sort of content they are being exposed to. As Twitch does not o"er any parental control options, this is the best way to police what your child is doing. If your child is overwhelmed or disturbed by comments that are being posted in the stream chat, it is possible to hide it from view by clicking the little arrow to the right of the Subscribe button. THERISK!UNWANTEDCONTACT FROMOTHERUSERS Just like any website or platformwith a social element to it, there is the risk that your child will not only come into contact with the sort of people you might rather they didn't, but also that they could be harassed, groomed or bullied online. Within Twitch settings, in the Security and Privacy section, it is possible to block messages – known as ‘whispers’ – from strangers. It’s worth noting that this option only blocks messages by those who are not ‘your friend, someone you follow, someone you subscribe to, one of your mods, or one of your editors’. Taking things further, it is possible to completely block users who become problematic. Show your child how to make use of this option by clicking on a user's name and in the little pop-up that appears, click the icon that looks like a little speech bubble to block them. If your child wishes to report the user to Twitch, click the three dots button beneath the block option and click Report. What parents can do What parents can do
SOURCES: https://www.twitch.tv/
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