#literally kids can’t exist anywhere without being preyed upon by algorithms and shit

[flamedoesart]

I feel like people tend to forget that the reason children are on websites they really shouldn't be on, like Twitter for example, is because there are no spaces on the internet anymore specifically designed for children, unless it's for babies or toddlers.

The death of Flash also meant the death of thousands of games and websites specifically designed for the 9-13 demographic. Now granted, several games died long before Flash did (like the Holy Disney MMO trio - Pixie Hollow, ToonTown and Club Penguin) but there were other websites designed around what kids would enjoy. Sites like Kongregate, Sploder, GirlsGoGames and others were designed with kids in mind.

These sites were special in the sense that it gave fun games for children to play without even really needing to interact with other people directly. They could play the games and have fun. If they wanted to make friends they could, and oftentimes these sites had moderation to prevent kids from having full control over what they could say so as to prevent bullying and potential cyberstalking.

But now Flash is dead, and there's barely any hangout spots for that demographic anymore. I think the last remaining game you can play that doesn't require Flash that was a major part of the 2010s game nostalgia was Wizard101, but that game comes with the flaw of membership programs, similar to all the other MMOs that existed at the time.

Needless to say, the next time we ask in annoyance why there's so many 12 year olds on Twitter and Tik Tok, remember that it's because there's literally no online spaces anymore solely for them and only them, that majority of adults wouldn't step foot into anymore.

#flame talks #internet culture #flash games #Edit : wtf how did this get so many likes and rbs #okay so maybe I should clarify a bit here that yes I am aware that there are still kids spaces online #but basically all the ones that exist now have a membership program #hell even roblox does and a membership isn’t required to play those games #yes ads are annoying af on games but that’s not the point #also yes I am aware that kids will walk into adult spaces online but #that would be less of a problem if there were actual sites designed for kids at all anymore #now all we have is tik tok and that site is more for teens and adults than for kids #literally kids can’t exist anywhere without being preyed upon by algorithms and shit