33% Of Gamers In South Africa Hide How Much They Game From Their Parents

A third (33%) of gamers in South Africa are ashamed of how much they game and hide it from their parents. This is according to global research¹ by Kaspersky and was discussed in a recent Mum’s Got Game live panel.

This research¹, commissioned by Kaspersky and conducted by Savanta in November last year, looks at gaming in 2020 across 17 countries and 5,031 respondents, and considers what dynamics between gamers and their parents have changed and what can be done to break down barriers and stigmas.

According to the gamers surveyed, this gaming shame is due to archaic stigmas² that remain around it, such as “bad for your health” (55%) or “rotting your brain” (56%).

The biggest disappointment for gamers is that while parents appreciate many of the positives – creativity (55%), social skills (33%), problem solving (50%) – they are less able to engage with them about their passion, mainly because gameplay and the social elements of gaming are so different to the likes of movies and music. In fact, half (54%) believe that if their parents “got” gaming, their relationship overall would be better.

Andrew Winton, Vice President of Marketing at Kaspersky, said, “Gaming has provided huge support to many people this past year; offering solace, relief and friendship in difficult times. But for many families, the negative perceptions of gaming can be very counter-productive in enabling open dialogue and building relationships. We hope that the wise words from these mums will help others start to have better and more positive conversations between gamers and parents.”

To read the full report visit our blog.

About Kaspersky

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky technologies and we help 250,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.co.za.