Zift Advisory
The Twitch app is a social media and networking for gamers, where they can chat, stream, watch and follow live and playback video of game play. Twitch is available for iOS and Android devices and is rated for users 17 years of age and older. This app offers in-app purchases and advertisements. It can be safe for older, mature teens.
What is Twitch: Live Game Streaming?
The Twitch app is the mobile version for its ever popular gaming site. In short, Twitch is social media and networking for gamers, where they can chat, stream, watch and follow live and playback video of game play.
Twitch is available on the App Store and the Google Play Store and is rated for users 17 years of age and older. This app offers in-app purchases and advertisements.
Twitch users are able to follow their favorite gamers, or follow specific game channels, and interact to comment on gameplay or ask game-related questions.
Children streaming live play will see a platform similar to YouTube, with the video streaming at the top of the screen and comments populating below. It should be shared that many of the comments can be offensive or profane, and bullying and trolling often occur on this platform. In addition to comments, the live video aspect makes it impossible to screen for language.
Twitch does feature a report button on livestream pages, so viewers have the ability to flag content/users during streaming (but that doesn’t shield them from exposure during livestreams).
Is Twitch: Live Game Streaming safe for my kids?
Parents should know that Twitch is a live video game site, where gamers across the globe can network. Open to ages 13-years or older, Twitch can contain content -- both in the comments and in the graphic nature of many games -- that is unsuitable for younger teens.
While Twitch is free to download, users should know that ads feature heavily into this platform. Twitch allows users to chat, stream, watch and follow while on-the-go.
Parents should also be aware that Twitch’s age verification process is weak (if not nonexistent), and it’s easy for children under the minimum age to establish an account. For example, those already using a Facebook account underage can easily use that account to sign up for Twitch, with no secondary verification.
One positive aspect of Twitch accounts is that the default is set to private, so there is no need to search out a privacy function.
Twitch can be a great platform for gaming enthusiast kids to meet teens with similar interests and passions, or even develop a following of their own through live streaming, but the live feature makes the app a cause for concern for younger users.
Twitch’s interface is set up similar to other social networking sites, giving users the ability to build lists of friends on the platform; these friends can come in handy when it comes to team video game play, as they can share servers and combine to play games together.
Parents who do allow their children to use the Twitch app should monitor and check in with them periodically, as online interactions on this site can cross the line into bullying.
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