What Video Games Should Your Kids Stay Away From?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Online safety experts from Gabb revealed the top video games they would never allow their children to play.
Unfortunately, the list was full of extremely popular games that are played by hundreds of millions of kids every day. The games the experts named included Roblox, Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Fortnite.
A common factor between all of these games is the use of largely unfiltered communication that exposes players to extremely inappropriate content while also opening the door for scams or getting exploited. These games, however, have individual problems as well.
Roblox is perhaps the most egregious as the game has faced numerous legal allegations from violating child labor laws to supporting underage gambling rings. Furthermore, hundreds of predators have created graphic pornographic experiences that further endanger kids’ safety. Child safety on Roblox is such a problem that the site has been named on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s Dirty Dozen list multiple times, including in 2024.
GTA faces similar problems, as strip clubs and prostitution are experiences directly coded into the game by the developers. Additionally, GTA is extremely violent as the game’s storyline follows a character who works their way to become a top member of a drug ring, engaging in dozens of violent acts along the way.
Fortnite is similar as well, as the purpose of the game is to be the last person standing, killing off everyone else. Furthermore, the character models are often sexualized.
Another problem these games face as a whole is they are extremely addictive, which has resulted in their tens-of-millions-of-players-a-day accolades. They also often prey on younger users by aggressively pushing paid content down their throats. For Roblox and GTA, these payments offer a competitive advantage, whereas for Fortnite the changes are only cosmetic but enticing nonetheless.
These games offer even more difficulty for parents to regulate than many other video games because even if kids aren’t playing them directly, there is a near-endless amount of content about them available on YouTube and live streaming platforms which expose the viewer to similar risks.
The experts from Gabb got these warnings right, and parents should be extremely cautious when deciding whether or not to let their children play these games.
Movieguide® previously reported:
An extensive article by Daily Mail UK reports that mothers across London note substantial changes in their children’s behavior. Why the noticeable shift? The popular video game Fortnite seems to be the root of the problem.
One nine-year-old girl was even sent to rehab. “Parents sought help after finding her playing the game in the middle of the night, sat on a urine-soaked cushion, as she had been too engrossed to go to the toilet.”
A fifteen-year-old boy was hospitalized. Fortnite “left him unable to go to school for a year and needing vitamin D tablets because of a lack of sunlight.”
A mother states of her son, Luke, “He was such a lovely boy, but this game has turned him into a nightmare.”
Why all the chaos? The premise of the game is survival of the fittest. Gamers are dropped into a location of their choosing, into a preset map and urged to survive. Guns and other life are available throughout play, encouraging gamers to stay alive as long as possible. Like other popular games, participants may choose to play with friends via the internet.
