Discord
Digital environment
What is Digital environment ?
Apps and environments young people use
Type of digital environment:
- Online forums
Age restriction: 13
Discord is an instant messaging, video and text social platform.
Risks and motivations
Risks
Young people who use Discord may be exposed to digital risk factors around family relationships and tech.
Young people using Discord may also experience:
Motivations
Young people might use Discord to:
- build relationships and networks
- develop skills
- make money
Young people’s voice
How young people engage with the environment
Elliot is 15 and enjoys using Discord for gaming and chatting to friends. He found out about Discord through social media, and it’s also really popular with his friends from school. He’s joined a few servers, where he’ll chat with friends and with people he’s never met about games, including sharing tips and advice. Sometimes he or the other person will suggest moving to a gaming platform, where they’ll play together. Before moving to the gaming platform Elliot says he will chat with them first, for around an hour, to find out which console they use, and as a form of safety check. Part of that check is to establish their age, for two reasons. One, to make sure he’s not playing with anyone too much older than him, for safety reasons. Two, to make sure he doesn’t use inappropriate language with someone younger. Elliot uses voice messages to help establish this. Elliot likes using Discord, and he’s never felt uncomfortable or unsafe on it. He says it feels safer than social media because if you’re in a chat and someone sends you a link, Discord will “pop up a message” to warn you if it looks suspicious. He noted that it’s also easy for admins to remove people from servers if “there’s anything wrong”. Actions he takes to keep himself safe on Discord include not using his real name in his username, using an anonymous profile picture, and leaving his bio blank.
Understanding online communications among children: Qualitative findings, Ofcom, 2023
What you can do
How to report content in this environment
How to close an account in this environment
![](https://online-risk-guide.barnardos.org.uk/transforms/_540xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/3239/GettyImages-1405778995-1.webp)
Share your experience of Discord
You can tell us about:
- other terms you might have heard
- conversations you’ve had with young people
- a related platform or app
- another related risk or harm