Teen Potentially using Twitch?
Hi,
Our 12 year old son wants to set up an account to Stream using Twitch to gain income. We are not sure how safe this is considering that they require putting in his Social Security Number (I am assuming for the purpose of Taxes if he makes money). Does anyone have experience in working with this website and if they have found any concerns in doing this? Any input would be appreciated as we are not familiar with all of this. Thank you.
Flor
Mar 9, 2021
Parent Replies
There is absolutely no way I would let my kid have a Twitch account. There is much less moderation than on many other streaming platforms, which results in non-stop creepy comments in the chat section. Twitch requires you to be 13 to have an account (although it's simple enough to lie about your age and get an account anyway if a kid is inclined to do that) and everyone that age is bombarded with requests for contact of various kinds, both financial and sexual, from predators. I'm not a hypervigilent Luddite mom exaggerating the situation. I have seen with my own eyes how kids with accounts get approached by other "kids" who turn out to be predatory creepers within an hour of setting up an account.
Depends on how mature and online savvy your son is. Kids are can make a lot of money on sites like Twitch. A lot of money. Online gamming is where it is at, With that said, Twitch can be risky for younger kids, proper understanding of the platform and some ground rules can allow teens to enjoy live streams from an array of topics. That being said, it’s important for parents to understand that Twitch does encourage users to connect with strangers and that everything on site will not be kid-appropriate. Like all livestreaming platforms, Twitch can be risky for kids and teens. Although Twitch has moderators and strict rules around sexually suggestive or explicit content, it doesn't offer filters or age gates for specific categories and games, which include mature, violent titles like Grand Theft Auto V and Crysis 3
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/social-media/what-should-parents-know-…