Twitch

Twitch: Live Game Streaming (Rated 13+, Live Video Streaming)

Twitch is a viral live streaming platform primarily for gamers. Twitch’s channels aren’t just for gamers. You can find people live streaming how-to videos, a talk show, podcasts, or performing music. If your child loves playing games like Fortnite, Minecraft, or League of Legends, they will want to watch Twitch’s live gameplay.

Potential Problems

Twitch is live, and like all live-streaming platforms, there is an element of risk to children being exposed to inappropriate content. I have spoken with many parents who were watching Twitch over their child’s shoulder of someone playing Minecraft. They were shocked when the player started dropping f-bombs. It was surprising because Minecraft is a game that skews to younger children. Although Twitch has moderators and strict rules around explicit content, it doesn’t offer age filters for specific categories and games, including mature, violent titles like Grand Theft Auto. Your child can chat with strangers on Twitch. Twitch has a chat feature that runs alongside all streams. Sometimes chats are restricted to only followers or subscribers of the specific streamer. Even if you cannot actively chat, you can see what others are posting. You can hide the chat stream, but you cannot turn it permanently off. Users can also send direct messages, known as Whispers, to other viewers.

Parental Controls

Twitch does not have parental controls that can be locked. Any setting can be changed in account settings at any time.

Disable messages (Whispers) from strangers

1. Click your child’s user name in the top-right corner of the
2. From the menu that drops down, click Settings.
3. At the top of the page, click Security and Privacy.
4. Scroll down to the Privacy
5. Toggle Block Whispers from Strangers to On.

Recommendation

Safe for high school-aged children.

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