The kids are alright: why young people are protesting in virtual worlds (Dazed)
A new generation of activists are flocking to videogames such as Roblox to bypass censorship and maintain anonymity
“What we’re seeing in all of these virtual environments is that things that [users are] seeing and doing offline, they bring into these online spaces because they’re meaningful to them,” explains Katie Salen Tekinbaş, professor at the University of California, Irvine. As young people become more politically involved – such as the surge in young climate activists in recent years – this is reflected in how they play within virtual environments. “It’s a way to try something out with limited consequences,” Tekinbaş says. “If you look at the history of play, it’s always connected to the real world. Play has always been a way that humans learn. And we often have to engage with difficult things during play.”
Read the full story on the Dazed website.