Leveling Up Together: Girls Make Games’ Commitment to Safer Play Online

When I used to be rising up enjoying on my Atari within the 80s, my mother and father by no means actually anxious about what my brother and I have been as much as. We have been in our front room, proper in entrance of my mother and father, and so they bought to dictate how lengthy we have been allowed to have interaction on this little “hobby.” 

Fast ahead to 2026 and the principles of the sport have modified vastly. Gaming, particularly on-line, has turn out to be a lot greater than only a pastime for teenagers. It’s a a lot wanted area for creativity, self expression, and connection. For kids around the globe, gaming could be a highly effective place to discover management and problem-solving, and to construct confidence of their voice.

At Girls Make Games, we have now an extended historical past of making academic initiatives that empower ladies by means of gameplay and improvement. From hands-on studying experiences like our summer season camps and workshops, to mentorship and scholarship applications that assist younger ladies of their sport improvement journey, our work has at all times centered on opening doorways in gaming — all whereas strengthening the influence of the interactive leisure  business.

As on-line play turns into a fair larger a part of youngsters’ lives, it’s more and more clear that empowerment should embody on-line security.

Why Online Safety Matters

While on-line gaming areas might be thrilling and filled with alternatives for creativity and connection, in addition they current critical challenges, together with publicity to harassment, unsafe interactions, and strain to overshare private info. Girls are sometimes disproportionately impacted by these challenges, significantly in multiplayer and voice-based environments.

Centering ladies’ experiences permits us to handle these points straight and thoughtfully. The expertise wanted to navigate on-line gaming safely —communication, boundary-setting, digital consciousness, and empathy —profit each baby, no matter gender.

Introducing the Safer Play Online Initiative

Girls Make Games’ Safer Play Online Initiative builds on our experience in video games training and youth empowerment. This initiative will concentrate on equipping youngsters, households, households, and communities with the information and confidence to navigate on-line areas responsibly and respectfully. Being on-line as we speak means extra than simply enjoying video games; it contains social media, chats, livestreams, AI/chatbots, and digital communities.

While the initiative is constructed on ladies’ voices and experiences, it’s deliberately designed to assist all youngsters. Our purpose is to emphasise understanding over restriction and empowerment over worry, serving to younger gamers learn to take part in on-line communities in wholesome, constructive methods.

Designed for Kids, Families, and Communities

Many households describe feeling caught between letting youngsters discover the web freely and limiting entry altogether. Our initiative is rooted within the perception that training and open communication provide a greater method ahead by changing worry with understanding and belief. Safety training will embody media and content material that helps youngsters construct the judgment, consciousness, and confidence wanted to navigate on-line environments safely and responsibly.

Our security content material might be:

• Age-appropriate, participating, and culturally inclusive
• Designed for gaming-savvy youngsters and teenagers, but in addition helpful for folks and guardians
• Useful in properties, faculties, neighborhood applications, and on-line platforms

Through workshops, participating media, and at-home actions, we are going to equip each youngsters and fogeys & caregivers with the abilities for issues similar to:

• Understanding gaming and on-line environments, together with chat options, social instruments, and AI instruments like chatbots
• Recognizing purple flags similar to harassment, manipulation, or strain to share private info
• Knowing the best way to reply when one thing feels uncomfortable
• Developing methods to deal with battle and negativity with out dropping confidence or enjoyment
• Protecting privateness and understanding digital footprints
• Building wholesome, balanced relationships with gaming
• Navigating the instruments accessible for folks to handle gaming

These expertise assist not solely safer gameplay but in addition stronger digital literacy that extends past video games. 

Looking Ahead

At the center of this program is our perception that every one youngsters need to really feel secure, highly effective, and revered in each area they enter, together with digital ones. Through the Safer Play Online initiative, we’re welcoming everybody, from mother and father to younger gamers, to hitch us in constructing a brighter digital future.Watch this area and be part of the Girls Make Games newsletter for the newest updates and launch particulars!