Cyber Safe Teens: A Mobile Serious Game for Raising Awareness and Prevention of Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children

Abstract

Online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) poses a growing threat in the Philippines, especially as more young people spend time in digital spaces. Through a quasi-experimental study conducted with Grade 11 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) strand students (n = 25) at a private college in the Philippines, this research developed and evaluated Cyber Safe Teens, a serious game designed to raise awareness about OSAEC and its prevention. The study employed the ADDIE model for game development and utilized a one-group pretest-posttest design to measure learning outcomes, complemented by the FunQ survey instrument to assess user experience. The results reveal significant improvement in participants' understanding of online safety issues, with mean scores increasing from 3.59 to 8.07 (p < .001). The game evaluation demonstrates high levels of user engagement, with participants reporting high scores in delight (3.55), challenge (3.46), and autonomy (3.20). The findings indicate that serious games can serve as effective educational tools for addressing sensitive topics like OSAEC when designed with user preferences and incorporating real-life scenarios.