The renowned social psychologist’s new book ‘The Anxious Generation’ is topping US sales charts. The NYU professor believes that people are fed up with social media and are looking for a way out
…well, is he wrong? Exploiting kids is the most lucrative endeavour. In fact, if we’re going by piece meal and not lump sum, young people are a fat wad of cash.
So of course you knew we need to take every musical art form and turn it into sensory overload on stilts, because money.
Your little crotchgoblins are a path to your wallet.
2 of my kids are young enough that they were targeted by the micro transactions, but the total lifetime spend on gaming stuff is under $1k, mostly spent on a PS4 and a PC for gaming, bought some Steam games, some PS games and both spent a little in Genshin. But not ever from my money, except for the equipment, I split that cost with them. $0 before they were 15. And they both UNDERSTAND money, both got part time jobs in high school, they make money. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to throw a little cash at a game you enjoy but it needs to be a decision not an impulse, turn off the game and think about it.
I have young kids and recently learned what Roblox actually is. My kids will never be allowed to spend a cent on that. I am happy to buy them suitable games.
Trouble is, most of the other games out there for kids are the same thing as the roblox games, and many of them cost money upfront, then sell the kids on skins, and tiny game functions just like roblox games. It’s hard to find suitable games for kids, and takes a ton of energy.
I have gotten my kids into satisfactory, raft, and games like that. But my youngest keeps coming back to the grinders which all have pay to win. Good games are just not as profitable.
I was about to say… What does “suitable” mean? I grew up in the 90s, and “suitable games” ranged from SimCity or the settlers to age of empires, crusader Kings, quake, doom, unreal tournament or half life.
There is no need to over protect kids from the “simple” evils: when I was very young, I didn’t want to play violent or scary games, even knowing they exist. Later I got curious and explored them. Depending on your choice a game such as the settlers, age of empires or crusader Kings could well be classified violent and “unsuitable”. But violence is everywhere, and those were some of the games that I fondly remember for instilling a huge curiosity in history and cultures in me. And yes, we were marketing victims as well: everyone spent way too much on Magic, Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh cards and related toys. But it didn’t infect every part of our lives.
Help your kids reflect on their choices and wants. Help them find out why they really want to pay too much money for that shiny Roblox skin. And offer alternatives with free, open content sharing so they realize they are being swindled. Media literacy is much tougher today because companies got much more insidious marketing vectors to infect kids.
Nowadays there are thousands of games being released per week, in addition to classics such as Minecraft, Terraria, Rimworld, Eco, which still have very strong modding and multiplayer communities.
worst part is when they have 57 AAA games but all their friends play fucking roblox have become obsessed with making content with roblox so they can join the child labor pool it uses.
When I was interested in mobile development, one of the big takeaways is to gear your game towards preteens. They have the free time to play, the numbers to add player count, and the opportunity to give you money.
I heard it’s why YouTubers gear their content towards that audience too, even if they aren’t actively admitting to it.
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This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
…well, is he wrong? Exploiting kids is the most lucrative endeavour. In fact, if we’re going by piece meal and not lump sum, young people are a fat wad of cash.
So of course you knew we need to take every musical art form and turn it into sensory overload on stilts, because money.
Your little crotchgoblins are a path to your wallet.
2 of my kids are young enough that they were targeted by the micro transactions, but the total lifetime spend on gaming stuff is under $1k, mostly spent on a PS4 and a PC for gaming, bought some Steam games, some PS games and both spent a little in Genshin. But not ever from my money, except for the equipment, I split that cost with them. $0 before they were 15. And they both UNDERSTAND money, both got part time jobs in high school, they make money. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to throw a little cash at a game you enjoy but it needs to be a decision not an impulse, turn off the game and think about it.
I have young kids and recently learned what Roblox actually is. My kids will never be allowed to spend a cent on that. I am happy to buy them suitable games.
I’m out of the loop. What is Roblox actually?
The most popular game among groomers.
Trash.
There’s two videos from People Make Games about that topic, both very interesting:
https://youtu.be/_gXlauRB1EQ?si=g0WlQz5qC3_pmswX
https://youtu.be/vTMF6xEiAaY?si=blVIQv15W7sws6wY
Trouble is, most of the other games out there for kids are the same thing as the roblox games, and many of them cost money upfront, then sell the kids on skins, and tiny game functions just like roblox games. It’s hard to find suitable games for kids, and takes a ton of energy. I have gotten my kids into satisfactory, raft, and games like that. But my youngest keeps coming back to the grinders which all have pay to win. Good games are just not as profitable.
I was about to say… What does “suitable” mean? I grew up in the 90s, and “suitable games” ranged from SimCity or the settlers to age of empires, crusader Kings, quake, doom, unreal tournament or half life.
There is no need to over protect kids from the “simple” evils: when I was very young, I didn’t want to play violent or scary games, even knowing they exist. Later I got curious and explored them. Depending on your choice a game such as the settlers, age of empires or crusader Kings could well be classified violent and “unsuitable”. But violence is everywhere, and those were some of the games that I fondly remember for instilling a huge curiosity in history and cultures in me. And yes, we were marketing victims as well: everyone spent way too much on Magic, Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh cards and related toys. But it didn’t infect every part of our lives.
Help your kids reflect on their choices and wants. Help them find out why they really want to pay too much money for that shiny Roblox skin. And offer alternatives with free, open content sharing so they realize they are being swindled. Media literacy is much tougher today because companies got much more insidious marketing vectors to infect kids.
Nowadays there are thousands of games being released per week, in addition to classics such as Minecraft, Terraria, Rimworld, Eco, which still have very strong modding and multiplayer communities.
worst part is when they have 57 AAA games but all their friends play fucking roblox have become obsessed with making content with roblox so they can join the child labor pool it uses.
fucking worst company in the universe.
My good deed for the day: https://archive.is/fxufa
When I was interested in mobile development, one of the big takeaways is to gear your game towards preteens. They have the free time to play, the numbers to add player count, and the opportunity to give you money.
I heard it’s why YouTubers gear their content towards that audience too, even if they aren’t actively admitting to it.