Cybernetically Made

The youth need better online games, not fifty dollar retinol

By Lauren Facente

I can confidently attribute a lot of who I am to the unrestricted internet access I had as a kid. Today I understand internet culture almost too well, and engage in aimlessly scrolling through various forms of brain rot whenever boredom strikes. I was a proud and outspoken member of One Direction Tumblr in 2012, and am a survivor of the capitalist mess called “Webkinz.” However, it's important to consider that in today's world, being online has a new meaning for a new generation of children.

In today's age, kids are being exposed to this culture from the moment they can hold a smartphone. Ironically, many of the popular games we played online have since shut down, or now require methods of payment to advance any sort of gameplay. Options for what to do online are somehow more limited now than they were previously for kids. They are harder to keep entertained without an app to scroll, and there is a serious increase in influencers living above their means. As a result, so much of the free content available online seems to be encouraging children to grow up faster, and to have all the newest trendy items. It's been especially harmful to young girls as they have become a target audience for makeup and skincare. I mean, I have to work up a sense of courage to step into Sephora now due to the mass of young children throwing tantrums in the store. With so much of the internet being a paywall or an unhealthy audience for children, it's become more difficult to find a safe and age appropriate space for them. It's hard to imagine what life will look like in the future for these kids growing up on a new form of internet.