To mark this year’s Safer Internet Day, we've worked with our partner Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to create further resources that can help support the online gaming community around mental wellbeing.
Through its ongoing partnership with our text service Shout, SIE offers the Playstation community free and accessible 24/7 mental health support, by texting the word 'CIRCLE' to 85258.
In 2024 alone, 59% of the people who texted the Shout service for support were aged 25 and under. That’s an estimated 142,000 children and young people who were reaching out to talk to one of our trained Shout Volunteers about a range of issues from suicidal thoughts and feelings, anxiety, depression, loneliness, relationship problems, bullying and more.
If you're a parent or carer, knowing how to protect your child's wellbeing online can be difficult to navigate. We’ve put together a series of tips to help guide you through how to support a child or young person with some practical steps and advice.
At the heart of it is the ability to have positive and open conversations with young people about what online safety looks like, and letting them know that support is available if they need it.
Dr Fiona Pienaar, Senior Clinical Advisor at Mental Health Innovations, said: “Before your child begins gaming, it can be a good idea to set clear boundaries on things such as time limits on gaming. Agreeing on this together is more effective than setting the limits yourself, and safer than leaving it up to your child to decide. By involving your child in the discussion and decision making process, you are ensuring they feel buy-in and responsibility too, which helps develop trust, build connection and help children gain an understanding about how to set their own appropriate boundaries.”
Visit the Shout website for the full tips and support.
