Three out of every four Australians now consider themselves gamers, and that number has increased sharply over the last decade, largely thanks to having much greater accessibility to a more diverse range of gaming platforms. Social and multiplayer gaming has also become a cultural phenomenon, attracting millions of regular participants.
Whether playing via PC or console or mobile, all these devices are now based around online connectivity, vastly expanding the choice of games we can play and the variety of experiences we can enjoy. But ahead of blindly diving into your gaming adventures, it’s always worth erring on the side of caution first, making sure you’re safe from any potential issues.
Nothing ruins the fun more than being hit with a problem, and most of the time we can take steps to preserve our safety when playing online. These are great ways to keep our gaming entertaining, all of which are simple and easy, based on good common sense.
Unique Passwords
This must always be the first priority whenever joining any online gaming platform, given that you don’t want anyone getting unauthorised access to your personal information. Thousands of people have suffered from data breaches in Australia in 2023, and the most frequent cause for leaked personal information is weak passwords.
Always make use of unique passwords, ideally with a combination of both lower and upper-case letters, numbers and symbols. Never use the same password repeatedly or even more than once. Also consider using apps or browser plugins that can generate unique passwords, which is encrypted and stored safely, ready whenever you need to use them.
Consider Anonymity
While most Aussies are proud of their names and achievements in life, and that includes their gaming adventures, think seriously before sharing true names and identifiable information with random people online. This includes your choice of in-game usernames that other players will see and consider using something anonymous that isn’t associated with your real name.
The same applies for both the games themselves and any online gaming communities, which you might choose to join. Although social gaming has become hugely popular these days, anonymity helps maintain your privacy, and can help to avoid any potentially embarrassing situations. Another plus is that you can create an entirely new online persona, completely different to your real self.
Responsible Gambling
More than 80% of people Down Under wager on a regular basis, many of them playing online pokies and table games at casino sites. But responsible gambling begins with choosing the safest Australian casinos based on trusted reviews. These are vetted to ensure they are backed by licensed operators, who must also comply with stringent rules and regulations.
Legitimate casino sites often use blockchain technology, ensuring that all transactions and user data is fully encrypted, along with guaranteeing that games are fair, and all instructions are clear. Likewise, responsible gambling measures are in place, helping players with customer support and providing increased control over their spending limits.
Time Limits
Australians love playing games and most of them do so online these days, either via desktop or mobile devices. Gaming is also great fun and can keep us occupied for hours on end, but we should also be considerate of our general health and wellbeing. This is why setting time limits for playing sessions is highly recommended.
Think about how much time you spend playing any given game, and even though it’s easy to get engrossed in a gaming session, consider taking regular breaks to do something else for a while. In many respects, people do the same thing when they work at computers for long periods of time, taking breaks to reduce strain on their eyes or just for a change of scenery.
Educate Yourself
This last piece of advice for Aussie gamers is quite broad, although as the saying goes, knowledge is power. First and foremost, before starting to play any online games, get plenty of reviews. Find out if any problems have been reported, get an impression regarding what other users think, and whether their opinions are positive or negative.
Gaming is about having fun and being entertained, so check whether there are issues with cheating and hacks, which only serve to ruin the experience for everyone. Be wary of potential scams or fraudulent in-game transactions, carefully read any privacy statements or terms and conditions about data sharing, and always understand any specific game rules or guidelines.
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