The Byron Review looks at the risks children face from the internet and video games.

Video games could soon have similar ratings to those of films, following the release of the Byron Review, an independent study on the risks children face from the internet and video games.

Independent consultant clinical psychologist, Dr Tanya Byron, was commissioned to do the study by the Prime Minister in September 2007, jointly backed by the Children, Schools and Families (CSF) and the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) departments. The report recommends a series of measures aimed at shielding the young from violent, dangerous and pornographic material.

The recommendations of ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’ include a more robust classification system for video games; a new social networking website code of practice; making it illegal for retailers to sell games to underage customers, and the creation of a national council to implement the strategy.

Dr Byron, best known for her work as child behaviour guru on TV shows Little Angels and House of Tiny Tearaways, has also recommended an extensive education campaign to warn parents, teachers and childcarers of the risks to children of unsuitable video games, and of the internet.

Dr Byron concluded that while new technologies bring incredible opportunities to children and young people, parents’ general lack of confidence and awareness is leaving children vulnerable to risks within their digital worlds.

Many parents seem to believe that when their child is online it is similar to them watching television – Dr Byron is keen to emphasise that, in fact, it is more like opening the front door and letting your child go outside to play, unsupervised. Digital world risks are similar to real world risks but can be enhanced by the anonymity and ubiquity that the online space brings.

Dr Byron said: “This is also about overcoming the generational ‘digital divide’ where parents do not feel equipped to help their children because they didn’t grow up with these sophisticated technologies themselves and therefore don’t understand them; this can lead to fear and a sense of helplessness. This is compounded by children and young people’s greater skill and confidence in using new technology.”

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