Do you have a kid aged 5-12? Do you
have a computer in your house with Internet access? If you answered yes to both
questions then you probably already know what Minecraft is, or have at least
heard the name. Minecraft was created by Markus Persson aka Notch and
contribution in 2011 from Jens Bergenstern aka Jeb. It is a pixelated 8 bit
block world of digging, building, defending, Creepers, Zombies, Endermen, Cows,
Pigs, Villagers, and..well..ask your
kids..it is all kinds of stuff. According to Minecraft’s official website it
has been purchased by over 14 million users to date.
Image Source: http://nintendoenthusiast.com/article/minecraft-wii-u/
How is it played? Minecraft is
available on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Ipad and Android. It can be played
single player (by yourself) or multiplayer online. In my household, multiplayer
is the favored option, as is with most of my ten year old’s peers at school. Kids
join servers that are hosted remotely and filled with anywhere from two to
hundreds of other players all at the same time.
Image Source: http://www.videogameaddiction.co.uk/gaming-addiction/gaming.html
Now, I am not an expert and I know
there are loads of parents out there who actually play Minecraft with their
kids and know more than I do about the game. I played the game once briefly but
I got motion sickness from the screen and the controls. I like PC games a lot,
but Minecraft is not quite my cup of tea. The reason some parents play is
because the game does appeal to LOTS of people of many different ages – not just
kids. So, when your kids are logging onto a server and playing with other
characters they are basically playing video games with strangers that could be
anywhere from 5 to 35 years old.
Image Source: http://investvine.com/heavy-regulations-for-online-gamers-in-vietnam/
Internet safety is a big
responsibility for a parent and one that should not be ignored or taken
lightly. Do you know who your kids are talking to on the Internet? Do you know
what your kids are doing on the Internet? If you saw your kid playing a low
resolution game with a block man shooting arrows at a green block monster you
probably wouldn’t think there could be any harm there. I thought mostly the
same way until I ‘sat in’ on some of my kids game play sessions and watched the
chat screens. While dozens of people were running around the screen, all doing
their own task, messages flew up on the screen at an alarming rate in the chat
pod. Invitations to play sex games and to come to a special world where people
had modified the game to undress the characters, rampant obscene and vulgar
language pervaded the chat. I was shocked as I did not know this existed in
this innocent game I thought was about discovery, cooperation and building
blocks.
Image Source: http://www.nfschools.net/domain/973
I emailed my son’s teacher as I knew that
their school friends were all on the same server where I observed the behavior.
I went on a quest to find a safe environment for my kids to play this obsessive
little game and the Internet was of great help. I found several servers that
required applications to become members of a ‘whitelist’ which means that only
approved users can join the servers and play together. No more random
strangers. In addition to only approved users allowed to play, the play is
heavily monitored for inappropriate game play including obscene or vulgar
language, bullying and other no-no’s in the massively multiplayer online gaming
world of Minecraft.
I promptly signed my children up
and forbade them from ever joining a server that I did not approve of. They
were required to read rules for each new server they joined and they learned a
couple hard lessons of their own while playing and not following rules exactly.
Their friends were all allowed to play on any server they wanted and did not want
to go through the application process. I have informed all the parents I know
of what my experience was and what I did about it. Some parents agree with me,
other parents think their kids need to be exposed to as much of the world now
as possible because ‘they will see it eventually’.
I only scratched the surface of
Minecraft in this post but I did want to share with other parents to be aware
of what your kids are doing online. It is not too hard to join the whitelisted
servers but it may just protect your children more than you will ever know.
Kids will become adults soon enough. It is my ideals as a parent that I want
shaping my kids and it is my desire to protect them from pedophiles, bullies, delinquents
and ill-mannered computer users while they are playing online. At the bottom of
my post I have several source sites for the statistics on Minecraft from above,
some helpful links and a list of the servers that I have approved in our
household.
Insightful web content about Kids and Minecraft:
Image Source: http://www.intercraften.org/
Family Servers I have approved for Minecraft play in our
house:
Sources:
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