Safe

My primary responsibility as a parent is keeping my child safe. Of course you have to prioritize their safety in a more general capacity. Ensuring they are fed, clean, have a safe space to sleep and don’t wander into oncoming traffic. Where it’s more difficult to protect them from is social media. Now both my partner and myself agree that she is too young to have, let alone require a mobile phone. Unfortunately as she gets older, as well as being exposed to the fascinating curiosities of YouTube, her natural inquisitiveness has only been expanded. Leading to her eventual migration into online gaming. Specifically Roblox. Another tangent of social interaction I was hoping to avoid. For those blissfully unaware, Roblox is an online game creation network, that promotes community based engagement, trading and level creation. It has also become a ravenous cultural obsession for my daughter.

Though the age demographic is advertised as child friendly, and parental controls allow us to restrict how she interacts with others and what she spends, you’re still not entirely sure what she is being exposed to. You’d think years of gaming would have somehow prepared me for this, but these kind of live service, social hubs is something I can’t quite understand. The graphics are rudimentary, presumably a deliberate stylistic choice to appeal to a younger audience. One’s that have either played or are aware of games such as Minecraft. The sound is very reminiscent of mobile games that douse you in a cacaphony of monotonous sounds, all while bombarding you with ads for its premium currency and items. And though Roblox from my initial understanding at least, isn’t quite as predatory in its plugs, the accumulation of valuable in game items and subsequent trading is evidently an important function of the game. What concerns me is her veracious need to log on all the time.

Now this is probably more indicative of me just being old and out of touch, which is only really a change from being young and out of touch. But her obsessive behavior, general attitude and mood become quite erratic when she plays Roblox. Especially if her friends are playing it too! She becomes all encompassed by it, to the point of becoming quite volatile. Trying to pry her away from the device to eat her dinner or even to elicit a response to very simple instructions is almost impossible. It’s concerning that a game focused on propagating social interaction, has the opposite effect. Again this is probably just a case of not understanding youth culture, but there’s something about this game I simply do not like.

We’re through the looking glass here people. The dreaded Coronovirus is spreading with a swift proficiency, not seen since a duplicitous pharmaceutical company unleashed a mutagenic plague on an unsuspecting rural, Midwestern city. Yes the “C-Virus” has severely crippled society to the brink of global hysteria that’s almost as infectious as the disease itself. Essential supplies are sparse, with panicked families stockpiling hand sanitiser’s, baked beans and, though I’m still not entirely sure why, toilet roll? Here in the UK the general public have been advised to restrict all non essential journeys and avoiding large gatherings. Leisure, hospitality and retail services have all been compromised by the governments passively enforced mandate that cautions the public to stay away from them. Ensuring the voluntary closures of these businesses, rather than substantially compensate the those affected by obligatory closures. My favourite instance of delirium though comes courtesy of my 3 year old daughter, grabbing my arm, pleading for me not to go to work as if I were heading off to war. “Remember what the TV said” she remarked with earnest sincerity. Even though she doesn’t really understand the logistics of it all. Which makes her about as well informed as many of us.

Current government procedures advice a mandatory 14 day quarantine period if you or a member of your family are showing symptoms of the virus. Encouraging self isolation and social distancing. That frankly sounds amazing! That’s a philosophical remedy for life if you ask me. With ample rations I feel as though I could accomadate a potentially life threatening illness with little resistance. And with the addition of school closures, such drastic measures are becoming a startling reality. It’s difficult to remain composed when the media is perpetuating this forboeding, presient future of ensuing chaos where bottlecaps will become the national currency, in world infested by deranged, baked bean fueled zealots trading toilet roll for bread. It’s scary. Unprecedented. And it isn’t about to end anytime soon. At this moment in time I’m carrying on as normal, though actively distancing myself from vulnerable members of my family. And everyone really. So business as usual! We are all likely to contract this virus at some point. It’s inevitable. So take care of yourselves and employ some restraint when stocking up on supplies. Sometimes people forget that other humans exist.

Stay safe.