Dive into our digital world special looking at the new game on the scene that you NEED to know about, how social media has spurred young people to take up an off-line hobby and what young people think about gaming!
DIGITAL WORLD: Palworld
Think Pokemon with guns and a hint of Minecraft meets Fortnite and you’ll have a decent grasp on what this extremely popular up-and-coming game is all about. Palworld is an open world survival game where you catch ‘pals’ whilst engaging in things like cooking, crafting and scavenging. Whilst only around a month old it has already hit over 19 million players, with a peak of 2 million playing on a single day!
It also has an online multiplayer mode for up to 32 players meaning that young people can tap into it as something to play with their mates, and after all, gaming is still one of the most popular hobbies amongst young people.
DIGITAL WORLD: Booktok
Booktok is a niche on TikTok (Tiktok + books = Booktok) centred around reading and books. It’s an online community fuelling a non-digital activity and with over 28 million videos under hashtag and billions of views, it’s going strong.
The demographic is mostly female and the books that take the spotlight are usually romance, fantasy or a combination of both (also called romantasy) and Booktok has exceptional influence– both on the reading habits of young people and on real life sales.
In 2021 Booktok helped sell 20 million books and stores such as Waterstone’s now often have dedicated areas or posters signifying ‘as seen on Booktok’. Alongside this, certain books (Song of Achilles, It Ends With Us, Atlas Six etc.) have seen an uptick in sales years after they were published due to their virality online on Tiktok.
At one time there were fears that the digital world would push out traditional hobbies, but the online sphere has actually helped young people find an online book community and to engage with reading (in a poll of 2000 young people, almost 59% said Booktok had helped them discover a passion for reading!).
DIGITAL WORLD: What Young People Really Think About Gaming
The children’s commissioner has recently released a report on young people/children’s views on gaming, which makes for fascinating reading and an incredible insight as to the opinions of under 18s about this online hobby.
For example, one of the findings was that ‘around two thirds of children viewed video games as beneficial to children’s health and wellbeing’ which stands opposite the opinion of many adults. Interestingly, those polled said they thought virtual reality gaming was less good for health and wellbeing than single or multiplayer games – a bit of a blow for what is meant to have been the biggest gaming breakthrough in years.
The report also outlines how many young people have aspirations to make gaming a career whether that be through streaming or working for companies like Nintendo and it’s discussed how gaming has opened up a new avenue for young people to aspire too – though young people acknowledged the disparity between those who can and can’t afford gaming consoles and equipment.
To find out more about young people’s views on gaming from the report, head here: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2024/01/Report-Digital-playgrounds-Childrens-views-on-gaming.pdf
Word Of The Month: Red Flag/Green Flag/Beige Flag
Several ‘flags’ are in circulation at the moment, which each being an indicator of something. It is most often used in relation to relationships/dating.
Red Flag = something someone does that gives off warning signals such as lying, gaslighting etc.
“It was a red flag when they said they would break up with someone if they put weight on.”
Green Flag = a positive quality, something that signifies someone is a good person
“He offered to take her pottery painting…such a green flag.”
Beige Flag = Used to describe something that isn’t a deal breaker but isn’t a plus either – something neutral or boring or a little quirky.
“My beige flag is that I don’t make my bed in the morning.”