Idk how to say this exactly, but one thing I've learned from playing online MP games is that people aren't socializing on them, they're just being antisocial as a group.

I'm sure it varies. The peals of laughter coming from her room suggest her experience is different.

It depends on whether the laughter is about the game itself or some personal experience a friend has shared over VC. Cause the loudest room on our dorm floor was always the League+Melee room, and it wasn't cause they were sharing funny stories, it was because Falcon did a moonwalk short-hop reverse-knee fast-fall L-cancel.

They are laughing because someone got killed by Glitch. Fortunately I do have conversations with my kid.

I laugh at the funny HN comments. It is still a solitary activity.

This really isn't the case anymore. People are socializing in Valorant, they're socializing in Lethal Company, they're socializing in Roblox. Very little of this "antisocial in a group" stuff, which I assume you're mostly referencing to stuff like COD players screaming in mic at others (but mostly themselves), mostly because there are now better tools to detect and ban those participating in such.

They've really become digital third places, especially when IRL third places have been overly monetized or destroyed.

I was the Minecraft server admin of my high school, csgo was big in college, I know how it is. Not referring to public matches like CoD. Just cause we were unaliving mobs and building stuff together doesn't mean we were socializing.

It doesn't, but many people do socialize in current games rather than just mindlessly unaliving mobs.

That's a function of the games you play. Online games are a 3rd space for hanging out with your friends. Like sure if all you're doing is joining public matches on CoD or whatever then yeah it's pretty antisocial but hoping on Discord with your friends and playing Minecraft / Roblox / Fortnite / the current meme game de jour then it's a great time. My friends and I currently have a long-running game of Don't Starve Together going.

And it's one of the few activities you can do with friends when you're stuck home on a school night.

Oh our main thing was Minecraft. Must be the longest running popular video game ever.

Minecraft isn't even close to World of Warcraft. Several times the billions and been around since 2004.

yeah, I limit video game time for my kids but don't take it away as that's how they play with their friends currently. So outside time and sports during the day and I let them have game time with friends after dinner. Seems to be a good balance

It obviously depends on circumstance - she doesn't have endless phone time but it's summer and this week she has few other plans.

I don't wish her only social interaction to be on her phone but the fact remains that if I took it away forever it would mostly impact her ability to play with her friends. I don't personally believe that it would be good for her mental health.

Yup, I agree. Kids need to be able to talk with friends. Especially over summer when they cant always see them in person at school. I have zero issues with phones, its just the social media apps I am against.

My kids have a Facetime video chat they all jump on while they game so they can see each other and talk, pretty great actually.