Learn more about the advantages of mobile games, how children interact with them, and potential problems to be aware of.
What Exactly Is Mobile Gaming?
With over 2.8 billion active users worldwide, mobile games are one of the most accessible ways to play online video games because they can be played on smartphones and tablets and are frequently free or low cost. You can also pair phones with Bluetooth controllers to make playing more convenient.
What Are The Advantages Of Playing Mobile Games?
With parental involvement and assistance in selecting age-appropriate games, mobile gaming can provide a great way for both parents and children to interact and develop a variety of skills.
The Health Advantages Of Playing Mobile Games
Physical Advancement
Playing games that put children’s strategic thinking and awareness of their surroundings to the test can help them improve their memory, spatial awareness, and problem-solving abilities. In some cases, playing games can help younger children improve their dexterity.
Encourage Physical Activity
There are a variety of active gaming apps available that test endurance and encourage children to run, jog, or jump in order to gain points or progress through a game. The most popular augmented reality game is spider rope hero, which encourages children to go outside and participate in order to improve gameplay.
Bringing Families Closer Together
Playing simple games like spider rope hero app or other similar apps that turn smartphones into tools to enhance group play can be a great way to elevate ‘Games night.’
Educational Advantages
Games that test children’s knowledge of math, science, or other subjects of interest can improve learning and make it more enjoyable for children to stay engaged in a subject.
Increases Imagination
Children can also use games to explore creative worlds and use their imagination. This enables them to discover new ways to tell stories and learn about the world, both emotionally and sympathetically, as well as factually.
Children With Special Needs Are Supported
Online video games can help children with special needs with communication skills, motor skills, organization, social interaction, and reading and writing, depending on the games they play.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Mobile Gaming?
Gaming Cyberbullying
Because of the anonymity of the gaming world, players can easily attack each other without fear of repercussions. Although many games have clear community guidelines that prohibit any form of in-game abuse (see Supercell for an example), some players known as grievers may deliberately target other players to harass them for no reason at all.
If your child is playing games with people they don’t know, teach them how to report their concerns in the platform or block players for a safer experience. Visit the website of the anti-bullying organization Cyber smile to learn how to report in-game abuse on the most popular platforms.
How Can Platforms Protect Your Child?
For example, all Supercell games include a chat feature in which messages can be reported by simply tapping on the message that is deemed inappropriate; once reported, the message is immediately assigned a risk level by a machine learning system and then reviewed by specially trained moderators.
With the growing popularity of social gaming in mobile games, it’s critical that your child understands that not everyone they interact with online is who they claim to be. Help them understand that some people may befriend them for ulterior motives.
Tell them not to take anything at face value and to never meet up with someone they met only online. Maintaining an ongoing conversation about who they are communicating with online and on what platforms can help you determine when to offer your assistance.
It can help to check their privacy settings on games they play to ensure features like voice chat are turned off for younger children. We would also recommend encouraging mobile gaming play to take place in family spaces and, if possible, together.
Purchases Made In-Game
Although many of the gaming apps are free to use, they may include premium features that you must pay to access. In Supercell games, you can, for example, buy in-app currency (usually referred to as gems or diamonds) or offers containing items such as chests, cards, skins, or other unique items.
Children may be tempted to spend real money (up to £79.99) on these digital items, so it’s important to talk to them about what they can and cannot buy in the games. Deactivate the in-app function on your child’s device if necessary, or set up a password to download apps from the app store. See our parental control how-to guides for more information.
Unsuitable Content
All online games, like movies, have an age rating that allows you to select age-appropriate games to avoid children being exposed to adult content that they are not ready for.
Because of how certain platforms categories games based on their content, the age rating for one game may not be the same across all platforms. As a result, determining whether a game is appropriate for a child can be difficult.
Clash of Clans, for example, is rated 9+ on the App Store, but the game’s creators, Supercell, have set the minimum age to 13 and up because it includes a chat function and in-app purchasing.
As a result, it is critical to comprehend what the ratings mean and why they were assigned in this manner.
Aside from that, it’s always best to sit down with young children and understand what content each game they play has to help manage the risks of exposure and answer any questions they may have about the game.
Gambling Through Gaming Apps
Although it is commonly reported that loot boxes in games lead to gambling, the Gambling Commission only states that this activity blurs the lines between the two. There is currently no connection between the two.
However, it is critical that parents understand how modern games are monetized so that they can guide their children in making informed and deliberate decisions about how much they want to spend. This allows them to get the most out of any in-app purchases indicated by the game’s PEGI rating.
Some shady websites that are not under the control of the game’s creators will occasionally pop up offering in-game items for real money. The app moderators quickly shut down this activity, especially when it is directed at young players.
To assist children with this issue, it is critical to talk about it so that they are aware of the risks of gambling and to monitor their online interactions when it comes to what they buy when gaming. You can also disable in-app purchases to restrict access to these features while playing the game.
When And How Much Time Is Spent Playing
Although playing online games is enjoyable, if not done responsibly, it can interfere with young people’s offline responsibilities such as schoolwork and social engagements. It is critical to ensure that children balance their time spent playing with their priorities in order to get the most out of their gameplay. For assistance, see Screen Time Management Tools.
