Groombuster: a narrative mini game to educate teenagers about online grooming

Mateo-Gorina,Paula; Theophilou, Emily; Sánchez Reina, Jesús Roberto; Hernández Leo, Davinia

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICALT64023.2025.00023

Groombuster: a narrative mini game to educate teenagers about online grooming

Citation

Mateo-Gorina P, Theophilou E, Sánchez-Reina R, Hernández-Leo D. Groombuster: a narrative mini game to educate teenagers about online grooming. In: Chang M, Chen S, Kuo R, Sampson D, Tlili A, Tsai PS, editors. The 25th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, ICALT 2025. Danvers: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; 2025. p. 62-4. DOI: 10.1109/ICALT64023.2025.00023

Abstract

Social media use among teenagers has surged in recent years, heightening their exposure to risks such as online grooming-a process where adults build online relationships with minors for abusive purposes. To address this threat, it is essential to explore innovative, technological approaches for educating adolescents. Therefore, this study sees the development of a narrative-based mini game to help educate adolescents about online grooming. A pilot study with 25 adolescents and young adults evaluated the mini-game's effectiveness in assessing their understanding of grooming and detection skills through a questionnaire and their in-game behavior. The results demonstrate that the mini-game significantly improved participants' knowledge of grooming and their ability to detect grooming behaviors, as evidenced by enhanced performance throughout the game.

Description

Comunicació presentada al 2025 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT), celebrada a Changua (Taiwan) del 14 al 17 juliol de 2025.