• Swindon & Wiltshire Community champions
• Thursday March 10 2022
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Tech boss offers to help teens build their own PCs to promote safe online gaming

Tech boss Kyle Holmes is launching a series of free events for young people during which he will teach them how to build their own gaming PC while helping them to stay safe online.
An avid and lifelong gamer, the entrepreneur and founder of Black Nova in Calne wants to share his technical knowledge to help children embrace tech safely.

Kyle’s inspiration stems from his personal experience of how online gaming can help to decrease anxiety and improve mental health. Like many parents, Kyle witnessed first-hand the negative effects that lockdown had on his stepdaughter, like so many other children around the country. Research from Young Minds found that anxiety among children increased by over 80 per cent during the pandemic.

He noticed that gaming helped his stepdaughter to cope with her feelings.

“Being able to talk to her friends online kept her feeling like she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t excluded from her peers. She did online dance lessons with her dance teachers, we invested in gaming headphones for her so the microphone and headset meant she could talk online to anyone at any time while online.”

Kyle realised he could utilise his skills and knowledge to help other children experience the same benefits, while also learning valuable technical skills. Online gaming is not without its critics yet Kyle says there are measures that all parents can take to keep children safe.

“I want to demystify the gaming world and show parents and children that, not only are building your own PC and online gaming good for your mental health, but they also offer technical and computing skills that will be invaluable for their future careers.”

The events will be held once a month for up to ten young people aged between eight and 15 years old. The first event takes place on Saturday April 9. The children will be invited to attend the Black Nova offices on the outskirts of Calne, Wiltshire, where Kyle will offer step by step hands-on tutorials that will cover how to build their own PC which they can then use to game online with their friends. Along the way, Kyle will offer parents and children advice and tips on how to do so safely and how the industry has evolved with safety in mind.

Parents can register via Eventbrite for the events with other available dates of Saturday May 14 and Saturday June 11. Children can bring their own parts to the tutorials, but these will also be provided for those who need them thanks to donations by a partner in tech, working with Black Nova. If demand is high, there will be a waiting list for those who do not make the first sessions, as Kyle is keen for everyone to have a chance to be involved.

Kyle added: “It warms my heart when I help younger people put something together, the smile from them really says it all.”