Survey shows Israeli youth at risk from predators while playing online games

JERUSALEM. KAZINFORM - Findings from the first survey of its kind in Israel published by the Ministry of National Security through the National Headquarters for Child Protection and the Office of the Chief Scientist found that more than 40% of Israeli youth playing online games were exposed to inappropriate content, especially violence, sexual content and obscene offers. About 66% reported an injury to some party, TPS reports.

The survey was titled «Risks in the World of Gaming.»

The survey was carried out in the fourth quarter of 2022 among 435 interviewees aged 12-18, from a representative sample of the population in Israel, excluding the ultra-orthodox population, which shuns the Internet.

The survey showed that:

70% of the youth in Israel play online games: 84% among boys compared to 57% among girls.
Higher percentages were recorded in Arab Youth – 82% compared to 66% in the Jewish youth.
86% of online game players use chat services (chat and voice calls), mainly in the «Discord» app and the game services themselves.

Over 50% of the players went into a private room with another player they didn’t know while playing the game and 18% of the players went into a private chat with a person they didn’t know.

About 25% of the teenagers reported that they were asked for personal details already in the first game played with someone they did not know before. Higher rates were recorded among girls (about 30%) and among teenagers from Arab society (about 35%).

Over 40% of the youth were exposed to inappropriate content, including bullying and bullying, sexual content and even obscene offers. Particularly high rates of exposure to inappropriate content were recorded among girls (about 47%).