How Parents Can Monitor Their Child’s Online Friends

Article written by: Eshaan Jagpal

Article designed by:  Eshaan Jagpal & Palak Tiwari

Children are starting to play video games at a much younger age than the children 10-15 years ago because of how popular the video game culture is and how many different communities are made based on what games the child plays. Most popular video games today have a feature called ‘voice chat’ where different players can communicate with each other with a headset and microphone. Another method of communication is ‘text chat’.

Instead of using a microphone to communicate with players, a messaging system within the game is used instead. These in-game communication features can be very dangerous because an attacker can use these features to try and get private information out of younger children without them knowing. If a child accidentally slips up by sharing even a little bit of private information, they can be put in a dangerous situation.

How Can Voice Chat Be Dangerous?

In voice chat, an attacker can first act friendly towards the child, giving them their name in order to become closer to them. Once the attacker has gained the child’s trust by acting nice to them and asking harmless questions, they can get private information from them sneakily. Some questions they can ask include:

• “What’s your full name?”

• “Where do you live?”

• “What’s your home address?”

• “How old are you?”

• “When is your birthday?”                                                 

• “What school do you go to?”

• “Where do your parents work?”

Once the child discloses some information, the attacker can get to work and use the information for something malicious. 

What Can The Attacker Do?

When the attacker gets access to the child’s private information like full name, date of birth, address, etc, they can use it for many attacks. For example, social engineering attacks like phishing or impersonation can be carried out.

The attacker could send someone close to the child an email talking about the child is “in danger” or they need funds for school and that they need to click on a link in order to help them. Once the relative clicks on the malicious link, the attacker has successfully infiltrated the relative’s account.  

How to Prevent Harm

When the child is playing video games, parents should be actively monitoring their child, especially what they are saying to other players. Parents should constantly remind their child what they can and cannot say, as well as explain the harsh consequences of sharing private information. Some things parents can do to ensure their child is safe when playing online video games are:

• Using parental control features

  • Most games include parental control features in the settings so parents can use this to regulate content

• Create a child account (Possible on many gaming consoles including Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, and Meta.)

  • A child account lets the child play the game, but some aspects that may not be kid-friendly are removed

• Disable communication for the child in the game

  • This makes it where the child can still play the game, but they are not allowed to talk to other people online

It is important for parents to teach their child how dangerous talking to strangers can be. Once they understand the consequences, it helps the child think critically, and take action on what they should and should not say.

Works Cited

Guide, Step. “Guide to Video Game Chat Rooms: Can They Cause Harm?” uMobix, 26 September 2023, https://umobix.com/blog/guide-to-using-video-game-chat-rooms-are-they-safe/. Accessed 6 August 2025.

Kids and Video Games | Consumer Advice, https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/kids-and-video-games. Accessed 6 August 2025.

“In-game chat: what parents and carers need to know.” CEOP Education, https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents/articles/in-game-chat/. Accessed 6 August 2025.