If you’ve ever peeked over the shoulder of a tween boy glued to a screen, chances are you’ve seen more than just Fortnite dances or Minecraft builds. You’ve seen a digital world shaped by gaming influencers. In Australia, most kids aged nine to 14 play video games, and many teens say gaming makes them happy or gives them relief during tough times. But while gaming brings joy, it also comes with a set of challenges parents and carers should know about.
RMIT University researchers are digging into just how influential these online personalities really are. Dr Lauren Gurrieri, Associate Professor in the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, explains that influencers “have wide cultural authority, acting as ‘everyday celebrities’ whose behaviours and attitudes hold immense power in how they shape the worldviews of their audiences.”
She notes that followers can feel like they have a personal connection with these influencers. “This misplaced sense of ‘knowing’ the influencer gives the influencer even more power to influence.” That influence isn’t always harmless. Much of the content created by gaming influencers on platforms like YouTube, YouTube Kids, and Twitch is aimed at tween boys, and it can reinforce damaging gender norms. Algorithms often amplify this content, making exposure almost unavoidable.
The stakes are higher than they might seem. Dr Gurrieri highlights that “how gaming influencers communicate gender norms through this content is a potential cultural driver of sexism and violence against girls and women within and outside of gaming contexts.” In fact, e-Safety reports that a fifth of teen gamers have seen or heard other players share hate speech, and just over one in 10 have encountered misogynistic ideas.
It’s clear that gaming influencers don’t just shape playstyles and fashion choices in the gaming world – they shape attitudes. Dr Gurrieri’s research, funded by the eSafety Commissioner’s ‘Preventing Tech-Based Abuse of Women Grants Program,’ aims to better understand parents’ and tween boys’ experiences of online gaming and to promote positive and respectful behaviours. She notes that this work could help prevent Australia’s roughly 800,000 tween boys from adopting harmful gender norms that can lead to tech-based abuse of women.
Professor Lisa Given, Professor of Information Sciences and Director of the Centre for Human-AI Information Environments at RMIT University, echoes these concerns while pointing out a growing trend. “Although gaming platforms are not considered age-restricted platforms under Australia’s social media ban legislation, gaming environments can also present potentially harmful content.”
She gives the example of Roblox, a popular game-creation platform with 380 million global users, many of them children. In September, Roblox introduced new safety restrictions to tackle potential harms such as grooming. But because it is not classified as an age-restricted social media platform, it will remain accessible to kids even after the social media ban for under-16s takes effect in December 2025.
With young people losing access to traditional social media platforms, gaming platforms may become even more central to their online lives. Professor Given urges parents and carers to stay vigilant. “Parents and other carers need to be vigilant in knowing what content their children are exposed to, on what platforms, and provide guidance and support for how to navigate gaming and other online spaces safely.”
So what can parents do? Staying engaged with your child’s gaming habits is a good first step. Watch the games they play, explore the influencers they follow, and have open conversations about what they see and hear online. Setting boundaries for screen time, encouraging offline activities, and modelling respectful behaviour in your own digital life are also important.
Gaming will continue to be a source of fun, creativity, and social connection for kids. But like any powerful tool, it comes with responsibilities. By understanding the influence of gaming influencers, recognising the risks, and supporting positive behaviours, parents can help ensure their children enjoy gaming without adopting harmful attitudes or habits.
In the ever-expanding universe of digital play, awareness and conversation are the ultimate power-ups.
