Online gaming: Signs your child may be bullied
Bullying within online gaming can be a real issue. Know the signs and what you can do to help prevent it.
Online gaming and bullying
The upsides and downsides of online gaming
Gaming can play a positive role in your child’s social life. It’s a space that can help them build social skills through interactivity with other players.
They can connect, engage and compete with others as well as develop and maintain friendships with people they’ve met online or friends they may know in person.
But sadly online games can also be another space where cyberbullying can happen. This can look like other players sending or posting negative or hurtful messages, excluding or ganging up on other players and using the game as a tool of harassment.
As a parent you can play a role in helping to prevent bullying within games.
Research shows that 1 in 2 of all online gamers, have at some point been subjected to bullying within a game.
What cyberbullying looks like in online games
Cyberbullying involves using technology with the intent to offend, humiliate, threaten, harass or abuse somebody. Here are some examples of what cyberbullying might look like in an online game:
- Trolling
- Threats
- Exclusion
- Harassment
- Hate speech
- Name calling
- Sexist remarks
- Sending viruses
- Spreading rumours
- Insults and swearing
- Unwanted sexual contact
- Destroying or stealing items
- Sharing others' private information
- Negative and hurtful messages
- Ganging up on or targeting others
- Account hacking and password theft
Signs your child might be getting bullied in games
Your child may avoid telling you if cyberbullying is happening as they often feel ashamed or fear that the game will be taken away.
Here’s what to look out for:
- Being upset during or after playing
- Reduction in time spent gaming
- Losing self-esteem or confidence
- Being jumpy or nervous when playing
- Changes in mood, behaviour, sleep, or appetite
- Withdrawing from family, friends and activities
- Feeling more anxious, sad, embarrassed or withdrawn
- Being secretive or protective of their gaming
- Avoiding school, sports or social gatherings
- Decline in school work or "acting out" in anger
- Avoiding discussions around gaming activities
- Unexpected changes in friendship groups
- Decline in their physical health
- Self-harm and suicidal thoughts
Take an active, non-judgemental interest in what your child plays as this can help them to feel more comfortable to open up about their gaming experience.
Things you can do to support your child
Here are some ideas on how to prevent cyberbullying in games and support your child if they’re being bullied:
- Keep gaming consoles in easy to supervise locations
- Know the ratings of the games your child is playing
- Reassure them that you can sort it out together
- Remind them it’s not their fault and they’re not alone
- Praise your child for doing the right thing by talking about it
- Establish rules to follow if they are being treated negatively
- Keep a record of all negative interactions as evidence
- Encourage them to keep up with other social activities they enjoy
- Show your child how to report, mute or block players who bully others
- Encourage them not to react or retaliate as it can make things worse
- Show an interest in your child’s gaming – what are they playing and who with
- Play or observe how the game works and what they’re exposed to in the game
- Check to see if the games your child plays have reporting features or moderators
- Help set their privacy settings and remind them to never give away personal info
- Teach them about safe online behaviour, including not clicking on links from strangers
- Encourage your child to take some time out from the game to remove the cause of stress
- Support their general wellbeing by helping them to eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep
- Remind them they can stop playing with people who bully others, leave the game or start a new one
Report online harm
If you're dealing with cyberbullying, image-based abuse, or someone is making you feel unsafe online, you're not alone! You can make a complaint to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.
Still feeling lost on how to support your child?
There is support available
Check out the eSafety website for more information on how to support your child and how to report cyberbullying.
You can also call Parentline in your State or Territory for more support and guidance on any parenting issue.
If your child needs support with a cyberbullying issue, or for any other reason, encourage them to talk to a Kids Helpline counsellor. They can call us or start a WebChat today.
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This content was last reviewed 28/08/2019
