Online gaming: how digital games can act as a gateway to grooming

As a youth who grew up around online gaming culture, I’ve seen firsthand how something so fun can quickly shift into something unsafe. An innocent game, like Roblox, Minecraft, or Among Us, can easily become dangerous if users are uneducated on how to game safely. Predators are getting smarter and more advanced. To keep youth and parents safe in online gaming environments, it’s important to recognize the tactics groomers use.

Understanding grooming

Before diving into the specifics on how to stay protected in gaming environments, it’s important to know some common terms used when talking about the online sexual exploitation of children .

Grooming: the process of building trust with a child, young person, or vulnerable adult in order to manipulate, exploit, or abuse them—often sexually.

Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC): the use of digital technology, such as the internet, social media, live streaming, or messaging platforms, to sexually exploit or abuse children.

Gaming platforms: digital environments where users play online games and can interact with others via voice or text chat.

Predator: a person who seeks to exploit or abuse others, especially children, often through manipulation or coercion.

Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM): content that depicts sexually explicit activities involving children. This includes images, videos, or any digital content.. As per the Department of Justice Canada, it is illegal to make, distribute, or sell child sexual abuse material—meaning that children legally cannot consent and that content involving minors does not fall under the jurisdiction of pornography.

Sextortion: a form of blackmail where a perpetrator threatens to share sexual images or information unless the victim sends more material or complies with demands.

With these terms in mind, we can better understand why gaming platforms are uniquely vulnerable spaces for grooming.

Why gaming platforms attract groomers

A review done by the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children reports that only 48 out of 196 countries have specific legislation addressing the online grooming of children. Gaming platforms are an ideal place for groomers to find and start interacting with their targets. These platforms offer two features that are extremely beneficial to predators: anonymity and pseudonymity.

Anonymity in gaming allows adults to disguise themselves as kids using usernames and “slang”; this creates a dangerous environment where kids are speaking to adults as if they are peers. This allows the predator to start building a relationship with the target—who is unaware of the predator’s real persona—and shift their relationship beyond just gaming.

Pseudonymity in gaming (through the use of usernames) allows predators to blend in. There is no need for them to reveal identifying factors; they can simply play the game and build relationships with children. For example, by always playing as 'CoolGamer123' with the same profile, friends list, game history, and reputation that builds over time, a predator can establish trust without revealing their true identity.

The conversations between adults and youth are unmoderated on this platform. Age restrictions for children,—which usually state you, have to be over 13—are unenforced. Studies show that "out of 40 popular gaming platforms, 29 allowed anonymous sign-ups and self-declaration of age, making it difficult to protect children by restricting adults from contacting them”. If children under 13 are going to continue playing these games, it's important that they are educated on the dangers and aren’t able to interact with adults.

Additionally, some game styles require recurring sessions, meaning that kids will play with the same people for multiple rounds/challenges. This allows a relationship to continue forming between a predator and a victim, allowing the game to be the perfect gateway to grooming.

The target-rich environment of vulnerable youth on gaming platforms is the ideal place for predators to approach youth. They are able to use pseudonyms, conceal their true identities, and build relationships with kids while playing. This relationship can progress outside of the gaming environment and can lead to youth being sexually exploited.

Tactics used by groomers

As mentioned before, grooming starts when the predator builds a relationship with the victim. To do this, they will employ strategies to get the child’s attention and start becoming “friends” with them. A common tactic used by groomers is giving in-game gifts and rewards. These small, inexpensive gestures act as a conversation starter for predators. Kids would naturally want to learn more about who gave them the gift—as being “friends” with them might lead to more gifts in the future.

Another tactic commonly used by groomers is creating shared interests. It might sound simple, but it relies on human psychology—people are naturally drawn to those with whom they share interests. A conversation between a predator and a victim might be as simple as:

Predator: “Woah this building is so cool! Can you show me how you made it?”

Child: “Sure! I love building, I watched this YouTube tutorial: link”

Predator: “Me too! I want to be an architect when I am older!”

Child: “No way! So do I!”

Predator: “Do you want to start a private game and we can try to see who can build a better building?”

Child: “Sure. Text me on Discord with the code: @XYZ”

The predator found a shared interest between themself and the victim and leveraged it to move the conversation into a private messaging app. It may seem simple, but this is how simple the beginning of grooming can be.

"We just played games a lot. He was cool, older, and sent me stuff like game credits and skins on Fortnite. One time he asked for a photo, and I didn’t think it was a big deal. I thought we were just friends. I didn’t really know it was wrong until later." — Anonymous, 14

Prevention

Here are some tips for parents and children to keep youth safe from groomers on gaming platforms:

For parents:

Adjust privacy settings:

• Set profiles to private
• Restrict friend requests to people your child knows in real life
• Turn off voice/text chat with strangers

Monitor gaming:

• Keep devices in shared spaces
• This allows parents to monitor the interactions of their younger children

Maintain open communication:

• Have regular conversations with your kids about gaming
• Ask about what games they’re playing
• Learn about which friends they play with
• Understand the overall nature of the games they enjoy

For kids:

Protect private information:

• Don’t share personal information on games (name, age, location, hobbies, passwords, etc.)
• Use a nickname when speaking to strangers
• Create a username that doesn’t reveal your true name.
• Block and report suspicious users who ask personal questions

Don’t keep secrets

• Groomers thrive on the fact that most kids are scared to talk with their parents
• Remember that it's always a good idea to speak with an adult you trust about online interactions
• Report any uncomfortable situations immediately

Be cautious with in-game gifts

• While receiving gifts may seem like a nice gesture, be careful when accepting them
• You never know the person's true intentions behind these gifts
• Discuss any gift offers with your parents before accepting

This issue isn’t theoretical. Youth like me are living in these digital spaces daily. If we truly want to protect children, we need to start listening to their voices. Gaming is a billion-dollar industry. Its design unfortunately gives groomers opportunities to interact directly with children and build relationships with them. We need to protect youth by giving them the tools to play safely and protect themselves.

The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and so are the threats children face online. To stay up to date on the latest threats sign up for the TELUS Wise newsletter. But knowledge alone isn't enough. It's time to take action and become part of the solution. Join the OneChild movement and become an ally in the fight against online child exploitation. Together, we can create safer digital spaces for all children.