Disappointment with Teen Town Hall Answers

Dr. Raymond Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling.
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria.
Strongbad: Babies having babies! When will the madness end?

Kids are kids... Most aren't in any hurry to grow up, there's too much to do as a kid. Just look at all the toys, whole stores devoted to their entertainment. And they'll lose most of that when they grow up. They know it. The 13 to 17 year olds are knocking at that door. They may look longingly at adulthood, not as an opening of new possibilities, but as a release from parental requirements. Do you homework. Clean your room. Eat your lima beans. Tell me where you are going. Come home before dark.

Commands, commands, commands...

Enter Second Life. No commands here. Not even the ones other games make, like killing monsters and gaining levels. They are left with the question "What should I DO?"

And the answers are limitless, young Avatar Junior.

It's almost too much for you to take in and decide on. What should you do? Well, you are here already. Chat with people while you decide. Go to the dance club one of them hangs out at. Click on the dance machine and watch your avatar groove while you chat some more. Mindless, really, but it's just something to do while you decide WHAT to do. Eventually you will think of something cool to do, to make, to be. But you are having fun in the meantime, nonetheless. You like this game, and you're sure it'll just get better.

That won't be an uncommon scenario on the Teen Grid, I would think. Heck, it's not uncommon on the Main Grid.


And when they DO decide to do something... Out of all the possibilities available to them, sexual-orientated things are but a small probability, smaller still because they KNOW that they are accountable. Second Life comes with it's own Permanent Record, and everything they make or upload gets recorded in that Permanent Record. That's a big deal. It's something that they understand, and being automatic here makes it all the more potent.

I don't think we're going to see Lord of the Flies on the Teen Grid. They WILL have adult supervision available. They WILL still have RL interactions to imitate.

I think they are going to play "house", go to hangouts like "dance clubs", play "games", and pilot "vehicles"...

Sound familiar?

Simple solution; Avoid porn being transferred. Don't allow them to upload their own content on the kiddie grid.