Pedophiles are using popular gaming platforms such as PlayStation 3 and Xbox to seduce young children—particularly boys—online, according to research done by Kingston University in London. While this revelation isn’t exactly new, researchers did discover evidence as to why these outlets are so popular with predators. “There are two dimensions of online gaming that made this method an attractive place to target young people,” researchers wrote in the study. “The first was that playing a game, such as online role-play, helped to reinforce the fantasy, or ‘unreal’ aspect of what is clearly offending behavior. The second dimension relates to online gaming performance reinforcing the credibility of the offender as somebody worth talking to. That is, being competent at online games and ‘leveling up’ by gaining experience points means a great deal to some online players. Consequently, some offenders talked about how they could use their considerable online scores as a way to ‘attract’ and open up conversations with some young boys.” (Games Industry)