My teen has saved some money from Christmas and birthday gifts and would like to purchase a Steam Deck. I don’t know much about the device, and I’m not seeing much about parental controls. Is this a safe device?
First, let me give a bit of background for anyone who might not be familiar with Steam or the Steam Deck, and then I’ll get to your specific question.
Steam is a storefront for games that also handles social aspects of gaming (such as connecting users to multiplayer games). Many popular computer games are primarily distributed through Steam. In 2022, Valve, the company that owns Steam, launched the Steam Deck. This portable gaming device is similar to a Nintendo Switch that works with a user’s games on Steam.
IS STEAM DANGEROUS?
There are reasons for parents to be concerned with Steam. The primary concerns for the platform include:
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Steam is a social network centered around gaming. You can friend users, and there are groups you can join. With this capability, users can message one another, join in discussions, and even share game content. It is also common for users to share other social media accounts on Steam, so that users can connect with them on other platforms too.
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Steam has many games with mature content.
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Steam enables multiplayer gaming for many titles. Multiplayer gaming certainly isn’t always bad, but there is always the risk of bad behavior. This behavior could come from other teens or potential predators.
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As with any gaming platform, one of the greatest risks is wasting an unhealthy amount of time.
Since the Steam Deck is mostly a portable console for the Steam platform, all of the risks apply to it as well as to the platform.
DOES STEAM DECK HAVE A GREATER RISK?
At its core, the Steam Deck is a computer that runs Linux (an operating system like Windows or MacOS). It can be entered into “Desktop Mode,” which enables you to use it like a tablet. In this mode, you can install apps, change the device’s settings, and even access a web browser.
As I write this, you cannot disable this capability on the device. Also, the parental controls, which I’ll discuss in a bit, cannot limit what users can do in Desktop Mode.
Desktop Mode is the greatest concern that I have for the Steam Deck. If you had a child that was trying to access objectionable content on the Internet, they could use this device to do it.
It is possible to secure the network that this device is running on, but you cannot disable this device from switching networks (without some Linux guru skills).
STEAM FAMILIES
Steam provides parental controls through a feature called Steam Families. These parental controls apply to Steam running on a home computer and the Steam Deck.
- You can select what games your child can access.
- You can enable or disable the “Steam Store,” where new games can be purchased.
- Your child can request to purchase a game from the Steam Store.
- You can set time limits for each user.
- You can restrict access to the Steam Community and Friends Chat.
- You can see reports on how your child uses their Steam Account.
SHOULD I LET MY CHILD GET A STEAM DECK?
While I like the parental controls in Steam Families, the inability to disable the desktop mode is a problem. Unless you can control the environment in which this device gets to the internet, I would not recommend it.
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