Trailer: Level Up Safely

🎮 From slogan T-shirts to coded number patterns - would you recognise the signs that a young person in your life may have been exposed to harmful or extremist content online? 🕹️ In the final episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou explore the changes in behaviour, language and interests that could be cause for concern, the importance of early intervention, and how to start conversations with the young people you care about. Plus, they share practical resources to help you feel more informed and confident when it comes to supporting young people in online gaming spaces. This episode’s guests are: Dr Nicolas Beliz - Clinical psychologist and supervisor at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

🎮 Sandbox games like Roblox and Minecraft are designed to let young people build whatever they can imagine. But what happens when that freedom is used to build something far more sinister? 🕹️ In episode 5 of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou investigate the harms young people can face in sandbox gaming spaces - from grooming and manipulation to extremist content and communities. You’ll hear from leading researchers who have found evidence of extremists across the ideological spectrum using sandbox spaces to spread their messaging, recruit and fundraise. We also explore documented cases of young people being radicalised through gaming platforms, and how user-generated content is being used to recreate simulations of terrorist attacks and school shootings. Plus, hear how worrying trends like looksmaxxing are infiltrating sandbox games and can act as a gateway to misogynistic ideas. This episode’s guests are: Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, the Christchurch Call Foundation

🎮 Gaming can be a place of friendship and belonging - but for women and girls, it can also be a space where misogyny, harassment and abuse thrive. 🕹️In the fourth episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou explore how misogyny spreads through gaming communities, how some young people may be drawn into harmful ideas about women, and how these beliefs can intersect with other forms of hate and violent extremism. They look at the rise of trends like looksmaxxing and the harmful impacts they have on men and boys, how seemingly harmless content can lead young people towards more extreme online communities, and why girls and women may feel pressured to change how they behave to feel safer while gaming. You'll also hear from leading experts about the role gaming can play in building positive communities for boys and young men and the important work community moderators do to create digital spaces where everyone feels welcome. This episode’s guests are: Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, the Christchurch Call Foundation

🎮 Violent extremists are exploiting gaming and gaming-adjacent spaces to spread their ideas, build communities, and attempt to recruit increasingly younger people. 🕹️ In the third episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou investigate how radicalisation to violence can happen online, why some people may be more vulnerable to extremist influence, and the practical steps trusted adults can take to help keep the young people in their lives safe. You'll also hear from Sarah, whose son John was radicalised online by the far-right when he was just 15 years old. She shares her family's experience, the warning signs she wishes she'd recognised sooner, and why early conversations with young people can make a difference. This episode’s guests are: Emily Thompson - Digital extremism researcher and Principal Strategic Advisor, the Christchurch Call Foundation

🎮The biggest risks in gaming aren't always hidden in the games themselves - they're often found in the communities and conversations happening around them. 🕹️In the second episode of Level Up Safely, Galen Lamphere-Englund and Phillippa Guillou delve into the different types of harms young people can encounter in gaming spaces - from bullying and toxic behaviour to grooming, sexual exploitation and attempts by extremists to spread their ideas. They also investigate how gaming culture and humour can be used to make harmful messages seem normal, why anonymity in gaming spaces can make bad actors harder to identify, and how conversations moving between platforms are allowing potentially harmful communities to grow out of sight. This episode’s guests are: George Osborn - Gaming journalist and author of Power Play: Video Games, Politics, And The Global Battle for Influence