When
my
boys
were
in
the
thick
of
their
teen
years
(pre
pandemic),
bad
mouthing
their
seeming
gaming
obsession
was
almost
a
sport
amongst
my
mum
friends.
And
it
would
sound
something
like
this:Â
‘They
just
waste
so
much
time
on
those
stupid
games’.
‘No
matter
what
I
try,
I
just
can’t
seem
to
get
them
off
that
silly
Xbox’.
‘Can
you
believe
they
want
to
spend
all
their
pocket
money
on
the
new
version
of
COD?’
‘I
am
so
close
to
throwing
all
their
gaming
stuff
in
the
bin!!’Â
Fast
forward
to
life
post
pandemic
and
I
think
it’s
fair
to
say
that
most
of
us
have
changed
our
attitude
around
gaming.
There
is
no
doubt
that
gaming
helped
many
of
us
survive
the
incredible
loneliness
that
resulted
from
protracted
quarantine
periods
and
seemingly
endless
lockdowns.
It
took
just
a
few
days
of
lockdown
for
things
to
change
real
fast
in
our
house:
daily
gaming
time
caps
were
scrapped;
screen
time
limits
became
a
thing
of
history
as
survival
became
our
top
priority!Â
Exactly
How
Much
Gaming
Is
Happening
In
Australia?Â
But
now
that
life
has
returned
to
our
‘new
normal’,
have
our
gaming
habits
and
attitudes
really
changed?
Well,
a
2022
report,
entitled
Digital
Australia,
has
done
a
deep-dive
into
the
gaming
lives
of
Aussies
and
the
insights
are
quite
fascinating.
Here
are
the
most
interesting
takeaways:Â
-
17
million
Aussies
play
games.  -
35
years
is
the
age
of
the
average
player. -
83
minutes
a
day
is
what
most
players
spend
gaming. -
Gaming
is
the
2nd
most
popular
‘online’
household
activity
after
streaming
TV
and
movies. -
36%
of
participants
have
made
friends
through
gaming. -
80%
of
participants
believe
gaming
has
a
positive
effect
on
their
mental
health. -
76%
of
parents
play
online
games
with
their
kids
with
the
majority
nominating
connection
as
the
motivation. -
2/3
of
parents
set
rules
for
game
play. -
70%
of
parents
use
parental
controls.Â
The
Best
Way
to
Stay
Safe
While
GamingÂ
So,
there’s
no
doubt
that
gaming
has
become
both
a
more
regular
and
widely
accepted
part
of
our
daily
lives.
But
that
doesn’t
mean
that
we
can
take
our
eye
off
the
ball.
While
there
is
a
lot
to
love
about
gaming,
there
are
still
steps
we
should
all
take
to
ensure
the
experience
is
safe
and
positive
for
everyone,
particularly
our
kids.
Here
are
my
top
tips:Â
1.
PasswordsÂ
If
you
read
my
blog
regularly,
I
have
no
doubt
you’re
rolling
your
eyes!
Yes,
I’m
talking
about
passwords
again!!
And
here’s
why
–
if
you
(or
your
kids)
use
the
same
password
for
each
of
your
online
accounts
and
one
of
those
accounts
get
hacked,
then
you
risk
losing
control
of
your
entire
digital
life.
Yes,
I
know
it
sounds
dramatic
but
that
is
the
reality.
The
easiest
way
of
avoiding
this
scenario
is
by
ensuring
each
of
your
online
accounts,
including
your
gaming
accounts,
has
its
own
unique
password.
Now
remember,
passwords
need
to
be
at
least
10
characters,
have
a
combination
of
numbers,
symbols
and
upper
and
lower-case
letters
and
have
no
connection
to
anything
about
you
at
all.
I’m
a
fan
of
a
long,
nonsensical
sentence
but,
I’m
an
even
bigger
fan
of
a
password
manager
that
can
both
create
and
remember
these
unique
passwords
for
you.
Check
out
McAfee+
–
it
will
make
your
life
so
much
easier!Â
2.
Consider
a
VPN
Â
Keeping
your
location
on
the
‘down
low’
when
you
game
online
is
an
important
way
of
securing
your
privacy
and
a
Virtual
Private
Network
(or
VPN)
can
do
that.
When
you
connect
using
a
VPN,
your
location
is
concealed
making
it
impossible
for
hackers
or
stalky
types
to
find
you.
A
VPN
can
also
protect
you
against
DDoS
attacks
which
can
be
used
by
gaming
opponents
when
the
competition
stakes
are
high!
McAfee’s
True
Protection
security
software
offers
a
VPN,
check
it
out
here.Â
3.
Say
Yes
To
Two
Factor
AuthenticationÂ
‘Yes
please’
needs
to
be
the
answer
if
your
online
gamer
is
offered
2-factor
or
multi
factor
authentication
from
a
game
or
distributor.
This
adds
another
layer
of
security
by
adding
an
additional
stage
to
the
login
process.
Usually,
a
code
will
be
sent
to
an
email
address
or
mobile
phone
number
that
needs
to
be
entered
before
the
user
can
access
their
account.
And
it
appears
as
though
distributors
are
getting
behind
player
security
with
some
games
even
offering
in-game
rewards
to
those
who
sign
up
for
it.
How
good!Â
4.
Only
Download
Games
(and
Cheats)
From
Reputable
Sources
–
No
Exceptions!Â
Scammers
know
we
love
gaming,
so
they
have
spent
much
energy
creating
websites
that
offer
free
downloads
of
the
most
popular
online
games.
But
unfortunately,
visitors
to
these
websites
won’t
be
getting
free
games
anytime
soon
as
these
websites
are
all
about
extracting
vital
personal
information
from
gaming
hungry
types.
So,
ensure
your
kids
understand
this
and
that
it
is
essential
that
they
only
download
games,
third-party
add-ons,
or
cheat
codes
from
reputable
sites
otherwise
they
risk
introducing
viruses
or
game
malware
into
their
beloved
machines.Â
5.
Choosing
The
Right
GamesÂ
If
you’ve
got
kids,
then
helping
them
choose
the
right
games
to
play
is
essential.
Instead
of
taking
an
authoritarian
approach
here,
why
not
think
of
it
as
a
collaboration?
Ask
them
to
do
some
research
on
the
games
they
would
like
to
play
and
ask
them
to
include
the
recommended
age,
an
overview
of
the
content
&
whether
there
are
privacy
settings
available.
I
then
suggest
reviewing
the
list
together
to
see
whether
the
potential
games
are
good
for
problem
solving
skills,
creativity,
or
purely
social
interactions.
I
also
recommend
checking
out
the
Australian
Classification
Board’s
review
of
potential
games
plus
top
notch
digital
parenting
sites
like
Common
Sense
Media
before
making
your
final
decision.Â
Without
doubt,
the
best
way
you
can
keep
your
kids
safe
while
online
gaming
is
to
ensure
the
lines
of
communication
are
open
and
clear.
If
they
know
they
can
come
to
you
if
they
experience
an
issue
while
gaming
(and
that
you
won’t
immediately
punish
them
and
ack
away
the
Xbox)
then
you’re
ahead.
Not
sure
how
to
kick
start
the
communication?
How
about
a
family
session
on
the
Xbox.
I
promise,
it
will
be
time
well
spent!Â
Happy
digital
parenting!Â
Alex  Â
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