Lots of young people enjoy watching livestreams. It’s exciting and can help them feel like they’re part of something.

• They may watch livestreams from their friends or family. Livestreaming can be a fun way to keep people you know up-to-date with what’s going on in your life.
• They may watch livestreams from internet personalities or celebrities who use live video to communicate with their audiences and to showcase events, brands or projects they are involved with.
• They may watch livestreams of gameplay. Websites such as Twitch are hugely popular for watching videos of other people playing popular games. The footage will often show the game as it appears on the screen for the player, alongside a voiceover by the person playing. Sometimes video footage of the player can be seen too.

Content

You can never be sure exactly what you might see or hear on a livestream or in the accompanying comments. There’s a risk young people might be exposed to inappropriate or adult content, explicit language or nudity.

It’s important young people think before they watch and know what to do if they experience something upsetting or inappropriate. For example they could make a report to the service they are using or speak to an adult they trust.

Contact

Lots of livestreaming services also provide a chat function alongside the video. Young people need to remember when participating in the chat that they may be in contact with people they haven’t met before in the offline world and these people are still strangers. Young people need to be aware of what they should and shouldn’t share with strangers and the dangers of agreeing to meet up with someone they only know online.

Commercialism

Vloggers and celebrities communicate with their fans and disseminate certain messages, including marketing and advertising through livestreaming. Young people need to think critically about the content they’re seeing to recognise what is opinion and what is fact. Be aware that some livestreamers will also ask for money from viewers (as a donation or to support them in their livestreamed activities) and young people should know that they are never obliged to contribute.

Regardless of how your child is engaging with livestreaming, there are lots of things you can do to support them in staying safe.

1. Discussion and involvement with your child’s online life is key Find out how they are engaging with livestreaming – always start with the positives before talking about the risks involved. Why not use one of the conversation starters below?
2. Find out more about the services your child is using. Get them to give you a tour of the site or app and talk you through how it works. Use it together if you can, or set up your own account to familiarise yourself with how it works.
3. If your child is already a fan of livestreaming you might want to set guidelines on when and where they can do it. You could agree that they can livestream only from a set room in the house, such as the living room and always with the door open. You might agree that an adult must always be present or forewarn them that you will check in at regular intervals throughout their stream.
4. Make sure your child knows they can and should come to you if anything is worrying or upsetting them online. Ensure your child knows that you are there to support them and to help them stay safe.  Tell your child that if he or she is ever asked to say or do something online they don’t feel comfortable with, they can always say no, end the chat or broadcast, and talk in confidence with you or another trusted adult. Remind them that it is never too late to tell you about something which has happened online.

There are lots of tools to help you manage the devices used by your family. For example, knowing how to activate and use parental controls can help protect your child from seeing inappropriate content online.