Wow! These New Virtual Worlds Our Kids Live In

And the rise of teenage developers and influencers

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Let me start with a little story.

Curiously enough when we moved here 5 years ago and we first looked out the back garden, at an empty field, I asked my then 8-year-old son what he thought we should do with the space? I was thinking he might ask for a trampoline or something similar perhaps.

He replied. Well over there, pointing, we should put a post office and down there, a school and it needs a shop in that corner and he continued pointing around and naming buildings and amenities.

At the time I laughed. I didn’t fully appreciate how very descriptive that was of him, the world he lived in, and what he believed to be possible. Now, 5 years on, I’m much more aware of how our kids quite literally live in an immersive world and if they want to build a village in the backyard they quite literally can.

I’ve looked back on that day since, and think of what a poignant moment it was!

During this pandemic, our children spent much time in their rooms, but alone they were not. They flocked in their thousands and millions to online games and online platforms such as Roblox and its microcosmic worlds and games to socialize and come together in a way that history has never seen before. Only now, can we start in some small way to piece together what the effects of that might be.

My journey to discovering this new land with their coded languages started in the summer when we were looking for a Piggy gift for one of my son's friends.

For anyone not familiar with Piggy, it’s a game built on the Roblox platform, based and inspired by the famous children’s cartoon, Peppa Pig.

The truth be told, I have a fascination with pigs. I’ve loved them since I was little and used to carry around a wooden toy pig taken out of an animal farm set. He was small enough to fit into a matchbox and was my best friend for a long time. Don’t judge me! So anyhow, the minute I heard anything got to do with a pig I was already curious and willing to help, I wanted to know more.

Long story short, there was nothing available to be bought online so my son and his dad ended up making a paper mache figurine to give…