Earlier quoted context omitted.
That doesn't make it OK.
We have ads everywhere. Teaching kids on how to handle ads is rather reasonable.
This is the worst comment I have ever read on hackernews.
Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
31–40 of 83 posts
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#32Yikes, ads for kids is atrocious
I refuse to let my kids play Roblox. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy ...". That place is full of kids scamming each other, and I've not heard many good things about the company either. I was once trying to tell my child about this in a public setting, and a nearby older kid was just smirking knowingly about all the things I was talking about. Gambling, theft, foul language. Frankly, it…
We use Roblox for family game night. It might not be as bad as you think.
I think its a cool platform for burgeoning game developers. Anyone can publish a game, we put together a little obby just for the fun of it. We're back to the days where a couple of creative, motivated people can make a fun game, share it with people, and possibly make a pile of money.
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Roblox already allows children to engage in a in-game stock market for items. Ads were overdue to be honest.
Wasn't it way worse than that? While it may be a bit sensational, "Casinos for children built with child labour who were paid in company scrip" isn't a technically inaccurate description of Roblox.
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Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't love the idea either, but in what way is this worse than ads on Nickelodeon?
Does it need to be? Both are bad in my reckoning.
Were the ads on Howdy Doody bad?
Ad supported content has been around for over a century, I think people get a little overworked sometimes about what a great evil it is.
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
We have ads everywhere. Teaching kids on how to handle ads is rather reasonable.
Or we could stop normalizing mass manipulation on an unprecedented scale.
It's crazy the extent to which targeted ads have been normalized as "a part of life"... to the point where we have people defending targeting children, with "Well they get targeted with ads elsewhere, too." We are in one of the more terrible universes in the multiverse.
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#36Yikes, ads for kids is atrocious
FTA: > The company in November began testing the video ads — that will be served to users who are 13 years and older Maybe by kids you meant 13-17...but I feel like teenagers are not exactly a demographic that never sees targeted ads (e.g. through social media, on YouTube, etc.). (Full disclosure, I work for Roblox, but not on anything related to ads. Obviously representing just myself and not my employer.)
I'm sure a child under 13 would never lie about their age, especially if desirable features are age-gated.
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#37Roblox has been on a constant downward trend. They’ve been doing some pretty awful stuff, including exploitation of children developers [0], unregulated market which encourages kids to gamble, lackluster moderation allowing kids to be harassed or worse, [both 1] and allowing manipulative and predatory games on their site [2]. [0] https://youtu.be/_gXlauRB1EQ?si=Cwfswyot9_FT29Fy [1] https://youtu.be/vTMF6xEiAaY?si=MbT…
> Exploitation of children developers
That's a pretty extreme interpretation. Anyone who downloads the IDE can create and publish a game. If kids are using the tool, making fun games, and sharing them with other people, than I think that's a good thing.
Roblox is making money off various sorts of in-app purchases, but you can make an account for free, you can play games for free, and you can create games for free. It's not much of a nefarious plot.
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Roblox already allows children to engage in a in-game stock market for items. Ads were overdue to be honest.
Wasn't it way worse than that? While it may be a bit sensational, "Casinos for children built with child labour who were paid in company scrip" isn't a technically inaccurate description of Roblox.
That can describe every game in the world. It's a game, a closed world, not real life substistence farming.
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#39Yikes, ads for kids is atrocious
This comment seems is fairly disconnected from the reality of what the average kid experience these days. Television, Youtube, Hulu, Peacock, TikTok [1], gaming consoles, and the vast majority of iPhone and android games are all full of ads. 80% of kids have access to tablets/phones [2]. [1] 50% of kids are on TikTok. https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2023/03/new-data-pro... [2] 80% have access to tablets. http…
Yikes, that's an atrocious number of ads for kids!
Re: Roblox players to start seeing video ads in its virtual realms
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
We have ads everywhere. Teaching kids on how to handle ads is rather reasonable.
This is the worst comment I have ever read on hackernews.
Right, it should have been "teaching everyone how to handle ads" would be more appropriate. Adults including those on this site get taken by ads more than they would probably like to admit (if they are even aware there's something to admit).
This is just another step of "think of the children"