Sunday, February 13, 2011

Experts: Keep close eye on kids who play online games

Experts: Keep close eye on kids who play online games

Experts: Keep close eye on kids who play online games

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 04:12 AM PST

RuneScape boasts on its website that it is the "world's most popular free MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game)."

There are currently 10 million people every month who sit down at their computers, sign on to their accounts and step into a fantasy world called Gielinor, "where wizards, monsters and magic await."

But until this week, many people had never heard of RuneScape, "The World's Most popular Free MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game)," according to its website.

That is, until Fitchburg resident John Phillips was brought into the national spotlight after he allegedly used RuneScape to meet a 13-year-old girl. Police say he later drove out to Michigan and had sex with her on three occasions last year.

John Shehan, of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said parents are often aware of the dangers of online social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

But, "another area that they do need to consider is online video games," Shehan said, adding they have become more popular in recent years.

Chris Walsh, owner of Whiz Store in Westboro,which sells and hosts face-to-face role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, said people get into role-playing games because they enjoy the adventure.

"Role-playing game people are scripting a movie in their heads -- and they're the heroes," Walsh said.

Walsh's store does not deal directly with video games, but he said many of his customers play them.

Adults often look to role-playing games to work strategy and build fantasy kingdoms. In role-playing video

games, kingdom building is not a big part, Walsh said.

Online role-playing games are geared more to younger kids, as the adventures are less cerebral and more about using characters to fight, Walsh said.

This makes MMORPGs like RuneScape a breeding ground for young kids.

The danger is that people who have a sexual interest in children also migrate to places they know children are going to be, Shehan said.

In the game RuneScape, in the fantasy world of Gielnor, Phillips allegedly "married" a 13-year-old girl from Detroit.

The RuneScape website has some interesting guidelines for its users to keep them safe. For example, in a Q&A it reads:

"Q: Is it OK to ask for a boyfriend or a girlfriend in the games?

A: No, that is solicitation and it is not allowed."

Furthermore the website reads:

"Please remember that you do not know any of these people in real life. This is not to say that they are not as nice in real life as they act in game -- they most likely are -- but it's sensible to keep a safe distance from people you only know online."

Despite these rules, Phillips was still allegedly able to "wed" his 13-year-old bride and allegedly had sex with her on several occasions.

Since 1998, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has had 51,000 reports of online enticement of children.

According to Shehan, who handles reports nationally, the main problem is when children meet people on the video games and carry their relationships onto e-mail or Facebook sites.

"You're on there to game, not to meet people," Shehan said.

The most efficient way to avoid this is by having parents who are well-educated about the dangers of online game-playing, Shehan said.

As a parent, your goal should be to know what you're talking about and really be able to talk to your kids because they need to be educated, he said.

Through education, parents need to keep an open line of communication so their kids feel comfortable talking to them if something happens to them online, he said.

"If they think that they're going to get grounded or you're going to take the modem with you to work, they're not going to talk," Shehan said.

By and large, Shehan feels online gaming is safe, but it comes down to knowing how to protect yourself or your children.

For more information on how to protect your child online, got to www.netsmartz411.org or call 1-888-NETS-411.

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