Radicalisation
The increased use of social media and video games, and the anonymity they can provide is making it easier than ever for people with extremist views to spread their opinions – most likely an opinion they would never speak aloud in public. According to the Daily Mail, ISIS have been using Grand Theft Auto V to promote terrorism, saying that what happens on screen in the game is so similar to what they do on the battlefield, and that players are already part way to becoming a fighter for ISIS. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2765414/Isis-use-video-game-Grand-Theft-Auto-5-recruit-children-radicalise-vulnerable.html) Within games, the messages spread that endorse hate and violence can have a devastating effect on those on the receiving end. Children could be talking to people online that they don’t really know and this then makes them vulnerable to radicalisation and they may foster the views themselves.
Explicit Material
Explicit content is another concern in regards to child safety. Children can be exposed to content that may not be suitable for their age range, such as extreme gore/murder or nudity/sexual violence. A source say that “according to the research, one in four primary school age children have seen something online that upsets them, with the most common cause being in a video game,” and that the reason for this might be that “Many parents might not be fully aware that these games contain such disturbing scenes.” The police commissioner interviewed in the article said that the industry needs to take a more proactive stand in “protecting young minds” and proposed a new age rating of AO or Adult Only for video games depicting such violence. Anyone would agree that a 5 year old actively witnessing a torture scene – even one in a video game – is inappropriate and upsetting for the child. Making parents aware of the level of explicitness in video games and maybe enforcing the use of parental locks would be a step towards managing this problem. (http://www.itv.com/news/2015-03-24/video-games-depicting-explicit-content-like-torture-and-murder-should-have-adult-only-rating-police-commissioner/)
Grooming
When a child predator gains the trust of a child through a video game- usually by pretending to be the same age- they can build a relationship with them and then begin to break down their defences, they then start to make sexual contact with the child, like asking them for sexually explicit pictures, sending them explicit messages or even attempting to meet them in person.
Children are vulnerable and predators know it,
Next Gen Games 