Online gaming opens up a world of possibilities: Streamer BeaPlays witnesses this daily with her community of subscribers. She breaks down the benefits of gaming and how she thinks platforms could be made safer.
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00:00Guiding her fans through spooky mazes, snowboarding down virtual mountains or showing off new
00:06outfits, that's Bea's full-time job.
00:09The 26-year-old streamer shares her Roblox adventures on Twitch to over 100,000 subscribers.
00:15On YouTube she has more than 600,000.
00:19Bea sees the potential in online games to encourage strategic thinking and help users
00:25explore the world, even if they've never left their hometown.
00:41She says it also fosters self-discovery and expression.
00:45I have tons of community members who use it as a way to explore different clothes they
00:50wouldn't be able to wear in real life or feel that they're not able to wear in real life.
00:54One thing I noticed the most is that it really does allow people to explore queer identities
00:59because if you are somebody who maybe in real life you're not comfortable telling people
01:04how you're feeling about something that's going on in your own mind or in yourself,
01:09maybe you can explore that inside of a game instead.
01:12So how can we continue benefiting from this exploration and creativity, all while keeping
01:17children safe?
01:20For researcher Yubo Ko, parents play a key role.
01:26I think it would be a better scenario if parents and children can communicate and play games
01:33together.
01:34So even if they encounter a bad game, they can work together to figure out why it is
01:41a bad game and then what we can do around it.
01:45For streamer Bee, schools have a responsibility too.
01:48And it's crucial they stay up to date.
01:52The internet is changing all the time.
01:54And if you're not fully aware of what can be on it and the dangers that it can pose,
01:59you can't efficiently teach somebody how to be safe online.
02:04But realistically, how much can parents and teachers keep on top of all the latest trends
02:09and crazes?
02:10That's why there are calls for platforms to step up too.
02:14I think that platforms need to be more specific and strict on limiting those games to having
02:20proper age ratings.
02:21Forcing secure ID verifications can ensure that you are actually the age that you say
02:27you are.
02:28If platforms and parents take action, gaming can be both fun and safe for children.