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‘Squid Game’ Trending across Platforms: What Parents Need to Know | National Online Safety

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What is Squid Game?
Netflix's Squid Game is set to become the streaming service's most successful show of all time, with huge numbers of viewers taking to social media to discuss each new episode. The South Korean thriller features some scenes of fairly brutal violence and is rated 15 by the BBFC. I t follows a group of adults who compete to win innocent-looking playground games, but who are killed if they do not succeed at the tasks.
An unexpected success in terms of viewing figures, Squid Game's popularity is beginning to spread across various online platforms. There has been a slew of content created - ranging from memes to apps - that convey the violence of the show, so it is important for parents, carers and educators to understand the basis of Squid Game and the potential risks to young people who might be exposed to it.

What are the hazards for children?

Squid Game's 15 rating has not prevented clips and images from the show being uploaded onto social media sites such as TikTok, with the #SquidGame hashtag being viewed more than 22.8 billion times. There have been reports of children who have accounts on these platforms inadvertently viewing gory, explicit scenes from the programme, and parents and carers should be mindful of the prevalence of these uploads.

The popularity of the programme has also led to online challenges based on various scenes, which see people taking part in seemingly innocent children's games. On the show, however, characters are executed if they fail in the game - and videos of people pretending to kill each other after competing in Squid Game-style contests are going viral on social media, where they are easily accessible to children.

What is the Squid Game Challenge app?

Squid Game Challenge (also known as K-Game Challenge) is an app for smartphones and tablets that has been released for Android and iOs, and the two systems differ significantly on their age ratings for the game. The iTunes Store rates the app as 12+ (advising of "mild/infrequent horror/fear themes"), while the PEGI rating for Android is just 3+, which means that very young children might be able to download and play the game even with parental controls activated on their device or through Google Play.

The gameplay is frequently interrupted by pop-ups and ads (sometimes appearing while the user is rapidly tapping their screen while attempting to complete the challenge). This could easily lead to unwanted purchases or accidental visits to inappropriate sites beyond the app.

What can trusted adults do?

As a parent or carer, keep a watchful eye on the content that your children are viewing. Speak to them openly and chat about how they have been spending time on their devices; let them ask questions, too. Ensure that the parental controls are activated on your child's device and that age-restricted child profiles are properly set up any on-demand services available through the family TV (such as Netflix, in this case) to prevent inappropriate content being streamed.

If you see your child replicating the challenges from the show or hear them talking about scenes and characters from Squid Game, it would be a timely opportunity to discuss with them that the programme is not intended for children, that much of the content would be inappropriate for their age, and that the violence in the series is very realistic and often upsetting.

Have you thought about joining National Online Safety?

Sign up with us today and get instant access to hundreds of free information guides on the latest apps, games, devices, and online risks - including streaming services, age restrictions and how to set up parental controls on phones and tablets.

If you're a school, becoming a certified National Online Safety member gives you unlimited access to our comprehensive range of webinars, courses and explainer videos, all developed by experienced experts in the education sector and addressing online safeguarding topics relevant to your school.

If you're a parent, you can also download our brand-new free app which puts our award-winning online safety resources literally at your fingertips, through any smartphone. Member schools can also download the app and unlock all of our courses, webinars and resources: so staff will always have instant mobile access to practical guidance on the ever-changing digital world.

Find out more about becoming a Certified School Member today

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'Squid Game' Trending across Platforms: What Parents Need to Know

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Netflix's Squid Game is set to become the streaming service's most successful show of all time, with huge numbers of viewers taking to social media to discuss each new episode. An unexpected success in terms of viewing figures, Squid Game's popularity is beginning to spread across various online platforms.

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Short video guides for parents and carers: delivering online safety at home (thinkuknow.co.uk)

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A guide to cyber security

We've teamed up with The National Cyber Security Centre to give you some advice about how you and your family can work together become more Cyber Aware.

Visit our parent and carers article Cyber security: what parents and carers need to know for more information.

A guide to watching videos online.

Children and young people love watching videos online. In this video we look at the type of content that may be inappropriate and what you can do to help them watch safely.

Visit our parent and carers article Parents guide to watching videos online for more information.

A guide to social media

In this video we explore we social media, the risks and what you can do as a parent of carer to help your child be safe.

Visit our parent and carers article Is your child ready for social media? for more information.

A guide to in-game chat

We've teamed up with Ukie (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment) to give you advice about online games and chat.

While playing games online is often great fun, it's important you understand why your children will chat online, what risks there are and what measures you can take to protect them while they're playing their favourite games.

Visit our parent and carers article In-game chat:what parents and carers need to know for more information.

A guide to live streaming

In this video will give you a brief overview of live streaming and some practical tips for your child's safe use.

Visit our parent and carers article A short guide to live streaming for more information.

Download our one page Quick guide to livestreaming.

A guide to sharing images

In these videos we explore why children and young people like to share images, the risks and what you can do as a parent of carer.

A guide to sharing images - primary aged children

Visit our parent and carers article Younger children sharing pictures or videos online for more information.

A guide to sharing images - primary aged children (BSL version)
BSL translation provided by Deaf Children, Young People and Family Service, part of National Deaf CAMHS, Manchester Outreach.
A guide to image sharing - secondary aged children

Visit our parent and carers article 7 questions parents ask about nude selfies for more information.

A guide to image sharing - secondary aged children (BSL version)
BSL translation provided by Deaf Children, Young People and Family Service, part of National Deaf CAMHS, Manchester Outreach.

Thinkuknow. An Introduction for Parents and Carers

In this presentation we will introduce you to the ThinkuKnow education programme, highlight some of the resources available for you and your children and remind you of some of the things you can do to keep your child safe online.

You can turn the subtitles on in the video, or you can download the video transcript.
Click here to download the transcript.

The best way you can protect your child is to establish a positive relationship with them around their life online. Talk to them - not just once but have ongoing conversations as part of your family life.

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Short video guides for parents and carers: delivering online safety at home

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We've teamed up with The National Cyber Security Centre to give you some advice about how you and your family can work together become more Cyber Aware. Visit our parent and carers article Cyber security: what parents and carers need to know for more information. Children and young people love watching videos online.

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59001786_v2.indd (kent.gov.uk)

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Mobile phone safety | Childline

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Tips to keep you safe when using your mobile or smartphone.

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A blog about mobile phone use (including Google Family Link) How to keep your child safe on their smartphone – the definitive guide (uswitch.com)

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Campaigning for change

We fight to change laws to make society safer for children. Our Wild West Web campaign has pushed for new regulations through the Online Safety Bill to make sure websites, apps and games are safe for children to use. But the draft Bill doesn't go far enough to protect children.
Help us end the Wild West Web

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Understanding online safety is tricky for all ages - we have advice and guides to help you learn about staying safe online as a family.

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Online Safety for Children - Tips & Guides | NSPCC

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Campaigning for change

We fight to change laws to make society safer for children. Our Wild West Web campaign has pushed for new regulations through the Online Safety Bill to make sure websites, apps and games are safe for children to use. But the draft Bill doesn't go far enough to protect children.
Help us end the Wild West Web

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Understanding online safety is tricky for all ages - we have advice and guides to help you learn about staying safe online as a family.

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Digital child safety - About us - LEGO.com GB

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Our online experiences are safe-by-design, like our social media platform LEGO Life that avoids sharing personal information, images and locations. Instead, we use a random 3-word generator to give every child a funny name like 'DukeCharmingShrimp' or 'ChairmanWilyDolphin.' Accounts are created with Verified Parental Consent to make sure parents are involved all the way. All comments and photos are controlled by trained moderators, so things are kept positive and fun. The safe-by-design policy extends to our digital games as well.

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Digital child safety - About us - LEGO.com GB

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Our online experiences are safe-by-design, like our social media platform LEGO Life that avoids sharing personal information, images and locations. Instead, we use a random 3-word generator to give every child a funny name like 'DukeCharmingShrimp' or 'ChairmanWilyDolphin.' Accounts are created with Verified Parental Consent to make sure parents are involved all the way.

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https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/

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Are you being bullied?

If you are being bullied, or you are not ready to make a report to CEOP, you can talk to Childline anonymously online or on the phone - No worry is too big or too small.

Visit Childline

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Are you being bullied? If you are being bullied, or you are not ready to make a report to CEOP, you can talk to Childline anonymously online or on the phone - No worry is too big or too small. Visit Childline

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Parents and Carers | Safer Internet Centre

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Tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep your child safe online

As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online.

You don't need to be an expert on the internet to help keep your child stay safe online. Our advice and resources are here to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibility and positively.

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As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online. You don't need to be an expert on the internet to help keep your child stay safe online. Our advice and resources are here to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibility and positively.

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Parents Protect - Internet Safety

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Online safety

Children regularly use different websites and apps from their parents, and it can be hard to keep up in this ever-changing digital world.

But the things that help keep children safe online are often similar to the things that keep them safe offline.

Half of ten-year olds now own their own smartphone (Ofcom 2019)

70% of 12-15-year olds now have a social media profile, with Snapchat being the most prominent platform in this age group (Ofcom 2019)

Children aged 5-15 now spend over 14 hours a week online, just over two hours a day (Ofcom 2019)

Watch the video below to find out how to protect children in the digital world, how to report harmful content and to develop skills for healthy screen time.

Online Safety

Children regularly use different websites and apps from their parents, and it can be hard to keep up in this ever-changing digital world.

But the things that help keep children safe online are often similar to the things that keep them safe offline.

Talk about what they think is normal online and what behaviour to expect from others and from themselves.

Encourage them to think critically and question what they see online. Talk to them about where they go to get information they trust, talk about fake news, fake followers and scams. Help them develop a healthy suspicion of whether people are who they say they are.

Share your knowledge and experience of relationships. For example, sometimes people seem nice at first and then they turn out to be mean. Let them know that you know this, they can talk to you about it. And that you won't panic or punish them if they do.

Show them how to report any worrying behaviour they see online - for example through Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command or the Internet Watch Foundation.

We are helping prepare our children for their futures if we help them go online safely and responsibly. Many people worry about amounts of screen time, but there can be lots of positives about what your child is doing online - entertainment, keeping in touch with friends and researching homework - so quality screen time is what's important.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

If you want to know more how to prevent child sexual abuse, you can watch the rest of our short films .

If you're worried about how an adult or young person you know behaves around children, you can get confidential support from the Stop It Now! helpline: 0808 1000 900.If you're not ready to speak to someone yet, you can use our live chat or send a secure message.

You can use the links below to read about:

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Online safety Children regularly use different websites and apps from their parents, and it can be hard to keep up in this ever-changing digital world. But the things that help keep children safe online are often similar to the things that keep them safe offline.

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National Online Safety Mobile App