Cybergrooming as a death trap

We all know that the internet is full of dangers for children and young people. The greatest threat comes from paedophiles who approach them with sexual intentions. Cybergrooming, as it is technically known, is an intolerable crime. And it can end fatally, as a recent case in Germany shows.

14-year-old Ayleen had met a stranger via the Fortnite online game chat and arranged to meet him. For days, the girl from near Freiburg im Breisgau was considered missing until the police found her body in a lake. A 29-year-old man from Hesse, who had already attracted attention as a teenager for an attempted rape and spent ten years in a psychiatric hospital as a result, confessed to the offence.

Ayleen's violent death caused great consternation beyond the country's borders, particularly among parents, but also concern, especially as Fortnite is one of the most popular games among children and young people. It is understandable that a violent offence against a teenager stirs up fear in many people. However, child and youth protection can only succeed if we parents keep ourselves informed.

Fortnite: What is it about?

Fortnite is an online game with around 20 million active young and adult players. The aim of the game is to land 100 armed, hero-like figures on an island in the widely popular «Battle Royal» mode. The player who survives at the end wins the round. Fortnite owes its popularity mainly to the shared competition.

The action game is low-threshold, as it costs no money and even works across platforms. This means that players can take part in one of the quick rounds, which often last just under 20 minutes, regardless of their device - mobile phone, PC or console. As in many other online games, players can chat with each other. Fortnite is approved for ages 12 and up and has often been criticised. Many parents take a critical view of their child handling weapons in a game. In addition, the possible in-app purchases can swallow up considerable sums of money.

Parents want to warn, not frighten. Nevertheless, only clear words will help: There are adults on the web who want to have sex with children.

Important to know: The risk of encountering paedophiles in Fortnite is no higher than in other online games with a chat function. If we want to protect our children from criminals, the same rules apply as everywhere else on the internet.

Inadequate technical protection

Although there are a number of technical protective measures, they do not offer sufficient security and are not always useful. Parents can set many restrictions in the Fortnite settings and prevent chat, for example. However, friendly players are then no longer able to discuss their strategy.

The parental guidance that many social networks offer nowadays is also difficult. Children and young people who romp around on digital playgrounds are in a process of detachment from their parents due to puberty and often feel too closely observed, controlled and compromised in such settings.

There is only one thing that helps: a regular, informative dialogue. However, many parents find this difficult. Especially when it comes to such drastic topics as cybergrooming, they often react inhibitedly and avoid clear words. Parents only want to warn their child, not scare them. However, vague phrases such as «There are bad people» do not help.

Rather, plain language must be spoken: There are adults on the web who want to talk to children about sex or arrange to have sex with them. Girls and boys who are old enough to actively use the internet are also old enough to deal with unpleasant truths. After all, the internet, online games and social networks are perfect places for paedophiles to manipulate young victims with lies and flattery.

Regula Schwager, psychotherapist and co-director of the Castagna victim counselling centre, recently put it in a nutshell: «Children and young people are very responsive to people who give them attention and care, who are available to them day and night.»

Experts distinguish between hypersexualised offenders and intimate offenders when it comes to paedophiles. «The former primarily want naked pictures and videos of a child,» says Brandenburg cybercriminologist Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. «The perpetrator's aim is to make contact with a child and quickly get hold of blackmail material in order to force the child to do more and more things.»

Should we ban Fortnite now?

In his experience, intimacy offenders, on the other hand, are "much rarer, they are more interested in building serious trust with a child so that they can meet them and have a kind of abusive relationship. Hypersexualised offenders sometimes have three-digit numbers of victims, intimacy offenders, if at all, have one, two or three victims.

What does this mean for parents? How should they deal with a game like Fortnite? One thing is certain: bans have never had the desired effect. On the contrary, they only increase the appeal of something. What's more, it's not the games that are the problem with cybergrooming, but the paedophiles. Parents don't have to get involved in Fortnite straight away. Mums and dads don't need to be interested in the games themselves - but in their children and what moves them, in their topics and interests.

And yes, a certain understanding of young people's need for games can't hurt. Fortnite has established itself as an entertaining leisure activity, especially after long and stressful school hours. In the afternoon, many pupils meet up online for a few quick rounds to relax. My son also plays Fortnite every day after school - he's a teacher.