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Same here, with daughters 4 and 7! They beg me for Robux on a frequent basis and 100% of their weekly allowance goes towards it. I have no doubt Roblux will co

Same here, with daughters 4 and 7! They beg me for Robux on a frequent basis and 100% of their weekly allowance goes towards it. I have no doubt Roblux will continue to make mountains of money. The amount of people playing it is mind blowing and I’m sure there are additional ways to monetize their ecosystem. As a side note - it’s cool to see them play so well together and I even play with them too to engage with them on something they enjoy. On the other hand, I sometimes get concerned with how much they play and how addictive the micro transactions are for kids their age. Then again, I spent most of my days growing up playing games like EverQuest, WoW, learning to program, etc. , so it’s hard for me to judge.

uoaei 6y ago
I see this sentiment often from parents. It baffles me. If you made decisions in your youth that you think were mistakes, you should be passing on the lessons of those mistakes. Not stepping back in non-judgment because "who am I to say". You are their parent!
- jvanderbot 6y ago
  I think op was missing the implied " and I turned out ok "
- nhumrich 6y ago
  I think it's less about "mistakes I made as a kid", and moreso, "I turned out great, so maybe they aren't mistakes"
  - aaronblohowiak 6y ago
    Or lessons well learned
- bladegash 6y ago
  Yeah, sorry for the confusion - that sentence likely could have been more complete. As others mentioned, I feel as though I turned out fine and I regret next to none of that time spent.
- pyuser583 6y ago
  I agree with you. My daughter spent 100% of her allowance on Robux. Now she doesn’t have an allowance.
- m0zg 6y ago
  > you should be passing on the lessons One thing parents discover is that if it's between dopamine and "lessons", dopamine wins 100% of the time. My 16 year old right now is playing games instead of doing his homework. He's going to have 2 "F"s this semester, just like the last, and one before that, and one before that. Doesn't give a shit - never experienced any hardship (yet).
  - meheleventyone 6y ago
    There's obviously a lot not said here but are you waiting for your kid to be "scared straight" or something?
    - m0zg 6y ago
      Oh no, I'm not "waiting". I'm trying to convince him that he's making bad choices, that he's making his own life dramatically harder in the long run, and so on, trying to get him to actually think what he wants to be when he grows up and create a plan of some sort for how to get there, maybe. He even nods in agreement. The moment I turn around he fires up a game or YouTube and he's right back to his dopamine cycle. So I'm afraid the school of hard knocks it'll have to be. There's this misconception among non-parents (or even parents of well behaved kids) that kids are robots and they will automatically listen to whatever "lessons" you give them. That may or may not happen, depending on the kid, and you really have little to no control over whether it does happen. And gaming, social media, etc, companies aren't making any of this any easier, unfortunately. This is something we'll have to pay a heavy price for in 10 years or so, that much is pretty certain.
      - uoaei 6y ago
        This is gonna sound harsh, but: You haven't earned the trust of your children.
      - AussieWog93 6y ago
        I'll play devil's advocate here: is he making a bad choice because of simple dopamine addiction or does he actually not want to go down the path that you want him to? My 17 year-old cousin is flunking school because (in his parents' eyes) he was "addicted" to online gaming, yet strangely when with other family members his "addiction" symptoms would disappear and he would be helpful, diligent and talkative. He'd even listen to advice and help out unprompted. As in, you literally take a phone call and come back and he's doing the dishes. Not playing Fortnite, not watching YouTube, scrubbing plates. The reality of the situation, that's painfully obvious to everyone except his mum and dad, is that a) there is some sort of breakdown in the relationship that has nothing to do with online technology (he has his iPhone on him 24/7 and will go hours without using it outside the home) and b) he fully understands that dedicating himself to his studies will help him follow the path his parents want for him - it's just not what he wants. Drug addicts disengage from society well before they become addicted. I don't see any reason why "Dopamine addicts" are any different.
rorykoehler 6y ago
It should be illegal to target kids with micro-transaction games.
- jfoster 6y ago
  Why? As in, what would be the principle behind that? How about... Toys? Should toys for kids be illegal? Should lollies for kids be legal?
  - jholman 6y ago
    I mean, I'm not necessarily taking a side on GP's claim, but don't be disingenuous. Should firearms for kids be illegal? Should driving for kids be illegal? Should gambling for kids be illegal? Should starring in porn for kids be illegal? Should data-mining the behaviour of children be illegal? Should paying children to work in mines be illegal? Obviously the principle would be something along the lines of "games with microtransactions are potentially hazardous to the buyer in a way, or to a degree, such that while we should allow adults to make their own choices, we should protect children from the consequences of being partially-formed minds, and so we should avoid targeting children with that business model". Same as gambling, or selling your PII to get free services, or starring in porn. I'm not saying it's a slam-dunk argument, I'm saying the structure of the argument is obvious and straightforward. And I expect every adult to be at least partially sympathetic to it, even the ones who end the paragraph with "but, on the balance, freedom is more important, so it should not be illegal". Well. I admit. I mostly agree with GP's claim. But not with high confidence.
    - jsgo 6y ago
      The way micro transactions work in those games (effectively for skins, special privileges in games, etc.), I think the toy comparison isn’t terribly far off the mark. Guns, starring in porn, working in mines, etc. is extreme in comparison. Whether it be tycoon games, social adventure games like About Me, Royal High, etc., it’s basically the new form of entertainment for kids. About the time my daughter became generally disinterested in toys was about the time she started liking Roblox.
yagya 6y ago
My 9 year old brother plays Roblox and discusses the trade values of pets in the games Bubblegum Simulator and Adopt Me on Fandom all the time, but doesn't spend actual money on any microtransactions in the game. Still, I'm surprised to see that there are people that will charge and pay huge amounts of money for rare digital pets in the game.

uoaei 6y ago

I see this sentiment often from parents. It baffles me. If you made decisions in your youth that you think were mistakes, you should be passing on the lessons of those mistakes. Not stepping back in non-judgment because "who am I to say". You are their parent!

jvanderbot 6y ago
I think op was missing the implied " and I turned out ok "
nhumrich 6y ago
I think it's less about "mistakes I made as a kid", and moreso, "I turned out great, so maybe they aren't mistakes"
- aaronblohowiak 6y ago
  Or lessons well learned
bladegash 6y ago
Yeah, sorry for the confusion - that sentence likely could have been more complete. As others mentioned, I feel as though I turned out fine and I regret next to none of that time spent.
pyuser583 6y ago
I agree with you. My daughter spent 100% of her allowance on Robux. Now she doesn’t have an allowance.
m0zg 6y ago
> you should be passing on the lessons One thing parents discover is that if it's between dopamine and "lessons", dopamine wins 100% of the time. My 16 year old right now is playing games instead of doing his homework. He's going to have 2 "F"s this semester, just like the last, and one before that, and one before that. Doesn't give a shit - never experienced any hardship (yet).
- meheleventyone 6y ago
  There's obviously a lot not said here but are you waiting for your kid to be "scared straight" or something?
  - m0zg 6y ago
    Oh no, I'm not "waiting". I'm trying to convince him that he's making bad choices, that he's making his own life dramatically harder in the long run, and so on, trying to get him to actually think what he wants to be when he grows up and create a plan of some sort for how to get there, maybe. He even nods in agreement. The moment I turn around he fires up a game or YouTube and he's right back to his dopamine cycle. So I'm afraid the school of hard knocks it'll have to be. There's this misconception among non-parents (or even parents of well behaved kids) that kids are robots and they will automatically listen to whatever "lessons" you give them. That may or may not happen, depending on the kid, and you really have little to no control over whether it does happen. And gaming, social media, etc, companies aren't making any of this any easier, unfortunately. This is something we'll have to pay a heavy price for in 10 years or so, that much is pretty certain.
    - uoaei 6y ago
      This is gonna sound harsh, but: You haven't earned the trust of your children.
    - AussieWog93 6y ago
      I'll play devil's advocate here: is he making a bad choice because of simple dopamine addiction or does he actually not want to go down the path that you want him to? My 17 year-old cousin is flunking school because (in his parents' eyes) he was "addicted" to online gaming, yet strangely when with other family members his "addiction" symptoms would disappear and he would be helpful, diligent and talkative. He'd even listen to advice and help out unprompted. As in, you literally take a phone call and come back and he's doing the dishes. Not playing Fortnite, not watching YouTube, scrubbing plates. The reality of the situation, that's painfully obvious to everyone except his mum and dad, is that a) there is some sort of breakdown in the relationship that has nothing to do with online technology (he has his iPhone on him 24/7 and will go hours without using it outside the home) and b) he fully understands that dedicating himself to his studies will help him follow the path his parents want for him - it's just not what he wants. Drug addicts disengage from society well before they become addicted. I don't see any reason why "Dopamine addicts" are any different.

rorykoehler 6y ago

It should be illegal to target kids with micro-transaction games.

jfoster 6y ago
Why? As in, what would be the principle behind that? How about... Toys? Should toys for kids be illegal? Should lollies for kids be legal?
- jholman 6y ago
  I mean, I'm not necessarily taking a side on GP's claim, but don't be disingenuous. Should firearms for kids be illegal? Should driving for kids be illegal? Should gambling for kids be illegal? Should starring in porn for kids be illegal? Should data-mining the behaviour of children be illegal? Should paying children to work in mines be illegal? Obviously the principle would be something along the lines of "games with microtransactions are potentially hazardous to the buyer in a way, or to a degree, such that while we should allow adults to make their own choices, we should protect children from the consequences of being partially-formed minds, and so we should avoid targeting children with that business model". Same as gambling, or selling your PII to get free services, or starring in porn. I'm not saying it's a slam-dunk argument, I'm saying the structure of the argument is obvious and straightforward. And I expect every adult to be at least partially sympathetic to it, even the ones who end the paragraph with "but, on the balance, freedom is more important, so it should not be illegal". Well. I admit. I mostly agree with GP's claim. But not with high confidence.
  - jsgo 6y ago
    The way micro transactions work in those games (effectively for skins, special privileges in games, etc.), I think the toy comparison isn’t terribly far off the mark. Guns, starring in porn, working in mines, etc. is extreme in comparison. Whether it be tycoon games, social adventure games like About Me, Royal High, etc., it’s basically the new form of entertainment for kids. About the time my daughter became generally disinterested in toys was about the time she started liking Roblox.

yagya 6y ago

My 9 year old brother plays Roblox and discusses the trade values of pets in the games Bubblegum Simulator and Adopt Me on Fandom all the time, but doesn't spend actual money on any microtransactions in the game. Still, I'm surprised to see that there are people that will charge and pay huge amounts of money for rare digital pets in the game.