Gaming Guide

Video gaming poses a variety of potential dangers to teens and children. This guide was created to help parents and guardians better understand and address these dangers. It includes information about the most popular games, along with practical tips and other advice to help gamers stay safe online.

PDF guide available:

Social Media Guide

New and larger amounts of research indicate that the increased use of social media is directly tied to poor mental health in teens and children. This guide explains the risks associated with the most popular social media apps and includes advice on how to better protect children’s mental health.

PDF guide available:

Gaming & Social Media Video Presentation

Watch the video presentation and get an understanding of the challenges children are facing today.

Want to spread the word?

Schools, medical professionals, churches, community organizations and other nonprofit groups can greatly help parents and guardians recognize the dangers posed to teens and children by unhealthy gaming and social media habits. This media kit contains all the tools you need to help spread the word and share the important information contained in our two parental guides.

Parental Guide for Gaming

  • Potential dangers of online gaming

    Potential Dangers

  • Warning signs of cyberbullying

    Cyberbullying

  • Psychological Symptoms of addiction

    Psychological Symptoms

  • How to Keep Your Child Safe

    How to Keep Your Child Safe

  • ESRB Ratings

    What's it Rated

  • Tips for Your Gamer

    Tips for Your Gamer

  • Gaming Strategies for Parents

    Gaming Strategies for Parents

  • Twitch

    Twitch

  • Discord

    Discord

  • Reddit

    Reddit

  • Addictiveness

    Addictiveness

  • Resources

    Resources

  • Trending Games

    Trending Games

Parental Guide for Social Media

  • Potential dangers of social media

    Introduction

  • YouTube

    YouTube

  • Facebook

    Facebook

  • Instagram

    Instagram

  • TikTok

    TikTok

  • Snapchat

    Snapchat

  • Twitter

    Twitter

  • Reddit

    Reddit

  • BeReal

    BeReal

  • Gas

    Gas

  • Locket

    Locket

  • Screen Time Management

    Screen Time Management

  • Parental Control Apps

    Parental Control Apps

  • Parental Control Apps

    Parental Control Apps

  • Apps to keep on the radar

    Apps to keep on the radar

 Video Gaming and Social Media Glossary

  • Extremely skilled.

  • I love you.

  • Nude club or meet in person.

  • Any day now.

  • Address.

  • Away from Keyboard. This means you are not playing for some time.

  • Type of hack where a software tool automatically aims a weapon at opponents, usually their heads. It should not be confused with aim-assist on consoles.

  • In first-person shooter games, the system helps players shoot moving targets when using a controller on a PC.

  • An application on a mobile device.

  • Age/sex/location. It can also stand for advance squad leader.

  • A small section in a profile that gives a glimpse of who the user is. The user can customize what they want their bio to say.

  • A term used when the user prevents others from viewing their profile. This includes preventing others from following you, messaging you, and more.

  • Short for Robot. This is a player controlled by a computer. Often bots are used to fill games and make it feel more alive.

  • A person who hides in a corner to get easy kills by surprising others. It involves no tactics and is frowned upon in fast-paced games like Overwatch.

  • “Adult Alert” or parents are nearby.

  • A response to a post or message.

  • A TikTok feature that allows users to enable Restricted Mode. This filters out inappropriate content and allows parents to place a limit on the amount of time their child can spend on the app.

  • A private message that only the user can see. It may also be referred to as a “DM.”

  • A TikTok feature that allows a creator to collaborate with another user’s video.

  • A hidden video game feature. They are normally unlocked through certain ways tasks are completed, specific buttons chosen, and from access to secret game areas. They may come in the form of text, images, special scenes, and more.

  • An app that lets users keep in touch with friends and family through photo sharing and status updates.

  • The term used to describe people who like your Facebook business page.

  • When repetitive actions are done to gain experience, points, or in-game currency.

  • The content that appears on the home page of a social media platform.

  • Someone who can view a user’s profile and what they share.

  • Short for “fear of missing out.” Users may experience this when they can see what everyone is doing on a social media app.

  • A page on TikTok that recommends videos based on the users, creators, and videos your child has liked or interacted with.

  • First person shooter. This genre involves a point of view that a person would see in real life.

  • A person you connect with on Facebook or another social platform. A friend is a two-way connection; both you and your friend have to endorse the relationship by accepting follow requests.

  • Friends with benefits.

  • Form of cheating where players are provided information they should not know. For example, a dead player might let others know the locations of the opposing team.

  • A file in GIF format appears as an animated or moving image.

  • Repetitive actions performed in a game to earn a reward. Take the example of a highly expensive car in Gran Turismo. You can play the same races over and over again to accumulate the money needed to buy that car.

  • Get naked on camera.

  • A person who cheats in a game to gain an unfair advantage over others.

  • The term used to describe someone’s username.

  • A word or phrase that comes after the “#” sign. These make it possible for others to find content with specific themes.

  • The large photo displayed at the top of a profile.

  • A social media app used to share photos and videos.

  • Keeping parents clueless.

  • An action taken by a social media user that shows approval or enjoyment of a post.

  • A video that is being displayed in real time.

  • A person who reads discussions but rarely or never participates.

  • A humorous photo or piece of media that spreads from person to person via sharing.

  • The inclusion of a username in a post to attribute a piece of content to someone or start a discussion.

  • An app that allows Facebook users to send messages through a smartphone. Facebook’s Messenger app is now a necessity to access messages from a Facebook profile.

  • Meet in real life.

  • Mom over shoulder.

  • When a game developer makes a particular item or character less powerful. This may be done because they think it is too good, leading to unfair advantages.

  • Slang for newbie and used to describe a person who is new to the game or who doesn’t know how to play.

  • In games, sniper rifles are made such that you need to use their in-built optics to shoot properly. If you kill someone without looking through the scope, it is termed as no scoping.

  • Parent alert.

  • Parents are watching.

  • Parents are listening.

  • While playing an online game, your computer exchanges information with the server to which you are connected. The time it takes for the cycle of sending and receiving data is called ping. It is measured in milliseconds. A high ping could lead to problems like rubberbanding.

  • Parent in room.

  • Parent over shoulder or piece of sh**.

  • A social media status update, photo, or anything shared on a profile.

  • A setting on a social media account that protects content from the public. Users must request to follow private accounts to see the content.

  • When a player is not able to perform well and ends up quitting the game in anger.

  • An emotion or emoji that the user chooses to react to a post.

  • The action of taking another user’s tweet and making it available on your account. Users can choose to repost the tweet as it is or repost the tweet with a comment.

  • Short for resurrection. The term is used frequently in PUBG while reviving a fallen teammate; you are “rezzing” them.

  • When your character or vehicle is continuously moving back to previous spaces due to lag in the Internet connection.

  • A photo that captures what is on a computer or smartphone screen in an instant.

  • A social media app used for sharing photos and videos. Once you view a message received on Snapchat, it is gone forever.

  • A page on Snapchat that displays a collection of videos from news outlets.

  • A unique, scannable code provided to each Snapchat user. Users can point their phone’s camera at another person’s snapcode to add them as a friend on Snapchat.

  • When two Snapchat users send posts to each other for a consecutive number of days.

  • A post on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat that disappears after 24 hours.

  • When a user mentions another account in a post or comment.

  • A social media app used to create, share, and discover short videos.

  • A topic or hashtag that is popular on social media at a given moment.

  • A person whose main motive is to act in a way that offends other players.

  • A social media app that allows users to broadcast short posts called tweets.

  • The action of removing a friend on a social media platform to no longer see the content they post.

  • To remove someone as a follower of your account and vise versa. After unfriending someone, you will no longer see their content on your home page or feed.

  • The number of users who have seen a post.

  • A term to describe an instance where a photo or video achieves massive popularity.

  • What’s your real name?

  • A social media app and website that allows users to upload videos.

Resources