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So, What Are the Risks?
First, these devices cost lots of money and there are lots of people who would love to steal them from you. In addition to losing an expensive device, you’d lose all your pics, stored music and games. And the person with your cell phone has all of your friends’ contact info too. Creepy! Luckily, if you back-up the files onto a data card or your computer and use a password to protect your contacts and private data, it won’t be so bad. And when you buy a cell phone, consider getting insurance for it, just in case it’s lost, stolen or has an unfortunate kayaking accident.
Second, they are easy methods of cyberbullying someone or being cyberbullied. Text-bullying, embarrassing pics and videos, and posers who will grab your phone when you’re not looking to text your friends with nasty messages while pretending to be you are commonplace. There are, from prank-calling to reprogramming your contact info to posting mean pics onto Facebook. Sexual predators are using them too, these days. They send text-messages or call their targeted victims. And teens who wouldn’t talk to them in RL or online, often text them back.
Hand-held gaming devices, like DS and PSP have Internet connections and tools to let you communicate with others too – both good and bad. Anyone within a few hundred feet of your DS can reach you by “Pictochat” whether you know them or not. Cyberbullies send you rude messages and drawings. And we spend tons of time playing games in our rooms and basements on X-Box and Playstation 3 screaming at others in the game and having them scream back, not always using the best language.
It’s a good thing that some game devices have built-in parental controls, security and privacy features. X-Box 360 even won an award for those safety tools from WiredSafety, the world’s largest and oldest cybersafety group. And some game companies like Nintendo, put safety first when deciding what games you can play on their DS device.
Game addiction! More and more we are seeing teens (and even adults) getting so involved in their favorite MMOGs (massively multi-player online game, like World of Warcraft, Second Life and Sims) that they ignore everything else in their lives, like family, friends and school. Games, like everything else, should be enjoyed but not become an obsession.
Also, lots of teens are having their loot, points and game cash stolen these days. They can have a street-value and be used to buy thing or be converted into real cash. More than half of the preteens and teens Wiredsafety polled reported having been game-bullied (a form of cyberbullying that takes place on MMOGs), so cyberbullying is a big problem too. And sexual predators often find and groom their intended victims on game sites, especially role-playing game sites. We’re even seeing a rise in female adults luring young boys on role playing game sites.
Just as with all other risks, teens can stay safe if they use common sense; know the rules of the game and where to go if things go wrong. And with so many now building in security and parental control settings, tech tools can help too.