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I mean, sure, it's not your JOB, but it sure makes MY job a hell of a lot easier when the people my kid looks up to are willing to stand for, well, anything.
Any day I get to enthusiastically support my kid's interests is a GREAT day. It's so much harder to undo toxic influence. https://twitter.com/GameSpot/status/1353802373848850432
Any day I get to enthusiastically support my kid's interests is a GREAT day. It's so much harder to undo toxic influence. https://twitter.com/GameSpot/status/1353802373848850432
And this isn't even about this streamer. He's welcome to do as he pleases! (though as a very prominent public figure, it is also fair game to discuss the potential cultural impact of, say, not streaming with women)
This is more about the internet/gaming culture we all inhabit:
This is more about the internet/gaming culture we all inhabit:
We all collectively grew up with such a defensive stance from "VIDEO GAMES WILL MAKE YOU KILL PEOPLE" that we've lost - to our great detriment - the ability to discuss with ANY nuance what aspects of games/gaming culture DO influence us socially, both positively AND negatively!
The teens are out here Darmok-ing with all their favorite streamer quotes and memes and we just expect all parents to magically understand all of it? How much did your parents understand of the cultures you engaged in and that influenced you as a kid? Did you even let them?
There's a reply to the quoted that is like "well OF COURSE it's the parents, have you ever been in a COD lobby?" and I'm just like...
...what
...sorry, WHO EXACTLY do you think these kids are emulating when they are doing shitty/harmful memeing in voice chat/game lobbies?
...what
...sorry, WHO EXACTLY do you think these kids are emulating when they are doing shitty/harmful memeing in voice chat/game lobbies?
Like, I'm even pretty well plugged into this shit as a game dev + internet user, and I sure as hell am not teaching shitty gaming culture, but I STILL have had to fight HARD against it for YEARS
Messages are still being sent whether you choose to engage with these things or not.
Messages are still being sent whether you choose to engage with these things or not.
No one out here is asking for long detailed lectures with cited sources. That's not your wheelhouse, that's fine! But just, like, basic awareness and acknowledgement can plant positive seeds we as parents can cultivate
(also, a shoutout to @DrLupo who HAS taken some deep dives!)
(also, a shoutout to @DrLupo who HAS taken some deep dives!)
End of the day, if you have a platform you can do whatever you want
But, this Leigh Alexander quote from 2014 continues to be so, so relevant:
"When you decline to create or to curate a culture in your spaces, you’re responsible for what spawns in the vacuum"
But, this Leigh Alexander quote from 2014 continues to be so, so relevant:
"When you decline to create or to curate a culture in your spaces, you’re responsible for what spawns in the vacuum"
Anyway, this is really hard (and necessary) work to wrangle as just a parent, because a whole world influences our kids, for better and for worse.
Also to many of you with platforms who I follow or who follow me, I do see and deeply appreciate the work you do. It matters.
Also to many of you with platforms who I follow or who follow me, I do see and deeply appreciate the work you do. It matters.
