A campaign by Electronic Arts and Internet Matters has successfully encouraged parents to get more involved in video gaming and understand the simple steps they can take to feel confident their children are gaming safely and responsibly.
From Fifa 22 to The Sims, nearly 1 in 3 people in the UK have played an EA game. And as a business, we respect the decisions parents make to limit the time and money their children spend on the devices through which players access our games. We are committed to increasing awareness and understanding of the tools that enable those decisions.
That’s why we partnered with leading online safety organisation Internet Matters to launch our Play Together/Play Smart campaign in 2021: to help parents get closer to the games their children play and gain a better understanding of the tools available to them to support safe and responsible play.
In the run-up to last Christmas, a third of all parents surveyed were considering gifting video games consoles to their children.
Partnering with comedian Katherine Ryan, who delivered a witty and humorous take on the stresses and strains that so many parents experience on Christmas Eve, we encouraged parents to act the night before Christmas to pre-set parental controls.
We have been blown away by the campaign’s success – with more parents getting closer to the games their children play while taking advantage of the simple, step-by-step guides to ensure their children play responsibly and have a positive video gaming experience.
Independent research shows that 55% of parents who saw the campaign acted by switching on parental controls – a truly meaningful and significant change in behaviour. Meanwhile, a staggering 81% of parents are now more likely to talk to their children about being safe online when using their games console, while 75% of parents and carers are more likely to set up parental controls on their child’s games console before giving the console to them in future. You can see more information on the impact of the campaign in an infographic at the bottom of this page.
EA believes that parental controls, coupled with an ongoing and open discussion within the family about play time, spend, age-appropriate games and online behaviour, can help ensure that children enjoy a positive experience while playing video games.
This work is far from done, but we are immensely proud to have raised awareness of parental controls, their benefits and how simple setting them up can be, and to have driven real behavioural change via our Play Together/Play Smart campaign.
If you have not yet set up controls of your own, it is not too late to do so. Visit our campaign hub today to access a treasure trove of practical, step-by-step advice on how to set up parental controls, set boundaries on screen time, and deal with issues such as in-game spending.
See advice and resources to help children stay safe online.
