MMORPGs, any sort of game that has you quote unquote building relationships with a strangers online is a gateway for grooming.
Killing strangers in battle arena doesn't tend to build those kinds of relationships. In general you're too busy being a pro and squishing noobs, or being a noob trying not to get squished by a pro.
Offline games just tend to not have those themes in them at all. Most games have story lines that put modern TV to shame in terms of how wholesome they are. They may be violent in a lot of cases because you are literally fighting to save that fictional world, but outside of that sexuality is just generally not a theme that's common and most offline games. Games that do tend to have it tend to make it into comedy and even then they're rare and far between.
Games are either mostly violence competition and/or strategy. I should know I've been playing them since I was 3 years old. It's probably a major part of the reason I don't trust people. People are not friendly in competitive online play and that's where I spent a lot of my time.
Competitive online plays where you learn the nature of humanity: we're all a bunch of f****** dicks. There's no expectation of civility in anonymous online play. People act their true selves.
So, as someone who grew up very well attached to MMOs, I don't think you are wrong, but the primary defense isn't to stop MMOs or something like some leftist tactic.
There are a lot of sketchy people that go on MMOs and treat it like a virtual chatroom, and kids can get caught up in this.
I know from personal experience that a girl from my childhood got involved with a lot of guys online when we were kids. A lot. And it wasn't the only time I had seen it happen. I'm talking I was like, 12 and she was 11.
The guys going after the kids were late teens through 30 years old too.
The worst thing of all? Her mother knew these people personally and never put a stop to that.
Moral of the story: Just raise your kids to recognize manipulation and don't let them have wholly unsupervised interactions with adults in any form.
Playing at those ages had me able to understand the manipulation better and that's also why I have a very staunch stance against Disneys. Difference was, I guess, back in my day (hah) we had parents specifically worrying about weirdos online and called them out by name.
Nowadays according to the MSM pedophilia is a sexual orientation, and we aren't allowed to put a stop to them. I would imagine this makes Disneys have an easier time in these venues than they used to.
There are a few others that had some serious pedo vibes. When Roblox first came out someone found a "naked" room filled with flesh colored Roblox dudes (rectangles) but it allowed people to communicate in the room and it got gross.
Just raise your kids to recognize manipulation and don't let them have wholly unsupervised interactions with adults in any form.
I agree with you here, but how would you broach this topic with a kid old enough to play games online, or would you say keep kids offline until they're old enough for 'the talk'?
MMORPGs, any sort of game that has you quote unquote building relationships with a strangers online is a gateway for grooming.
Killing strangers in battle arena doesn't tend to build those kinds of relationships. In general you're too busy being a pro and squishing noobs, or being a noob trying not to get squished by a pro.
Offline games just tend to not have those themes in them at all. Most games have story lines that put modern TV to shame in terms of how wholesome they are. They may be violent in a lot of cases because you are literally fighting to save that fictional world, but outside of that sexuality is just generally not a theme that's common and most offline games. Games that do tend to have it tend to make it into comedy and even then they're rare and far between.
Games are either mostly violence competition and/or strategy. I should know I've been playing them since I was 3 years old. It's probably a major part of the reason I don't trust people. People are not friendly in competitive online play and that's where I spent a lot of my time.
Competitive online plays where you learn the nature of humanity: we're all a bunch of f****** dicks. There's no expectation of civility in anonymous online play. People act their true selves.
So, as someone who grew up very well attached to MMOs, I don't think you are wrong, but the primary defense isn't to stop MMOs or something like some leftist tactic.
There are a lot of sketchy people that go on MMOs and treat it like a virtual chatroom, and kids can get caught up in this.
I know from personal experience that a girl from my childhood got involved with a lot of guys online when we were kids. A lot. And it wasn't the only time I had seen it happen. I'm talking I was like, 12 and she was 11.
The guys going after the kids were late teens through 30 years old too.
The worst thing of all? Her mother knew these people personally and never put a stop to that.
Moral of the story: Just raise your kids to recognize manipulation and don't let them have wholly unsupervised interactions with adults in any form.
Playing at those ages had me able to understand the manipulation better and that's also why I have a very staunch stance against Disneys. Difference was, I guess, back in my day (hah) we had parents specifically worrying about weirdos online and called them out by name.
Nowadays according to the MSM pedophilia is a sexual orientation, and we aren't allowed to put a stop to them. I would imagine this makes Disneys have an easier time in these venues than they used to.
Club Penguin Roblox
There are a few others that had some serious pedo vibes. When Roblox first came out someone found a "naked" room filled with flesh colored Roblox dudes (rectangles) but it allowed people to communicate in the room and it got gross.
I agree with you here, but how would you broach this topic with a kid old enough to play games online, or would you say keep kids offline until they're old enough for 'the talk'?