You know what, i'll let this be a debate discussion. Have Fun Guys

Well, Terraria appeals to all audiences really, despite being rated T (I think?). All you need is a VISA card and $10, which isn't hard to come by for the average child. Someone sees Terraria on YouTube, and suddenly they impulse buy it. Then, it's much harder than it looks, and if there is anything children want, it's to be powerful in a game. I think all of us are guilty of cheating in some game at some point in our lives. Yes, the community can be be... worrisome. Just look at minecrafts fan base, or even Pokémons. It is what it is unfortunately, but that's why we have these community groups, so we can properly funnel proper audiences depending on multiple factors. That's just my two cents though.

Originally posted by TooMuchDog:

Well, Terraria appeals to all audiences really, despite being rated T (I think?). All you need is a VISA card and $10, which isn't hard to come by for the average child. Someone sees Terraria on YouTube, and suddenly they impulse buy it. Then, it's much harder than it looks, and if there is anything children want, it's to be powerful in a game. I think all of us are guilty of cheating in some game at some point in our lives. Yes, the community can be be... worrisome. Just look at minecrafts fan base, or even Pokémons. It is what it is unfortunately, but that's why we have these community groups, so we can properly funnel proper audiences depending on multiple factors. That's just my two cents though.

Also there appears to be even people on the terraria discussion that literally make their discussion threads asking for friends,with titles like ''I need friends plz''

Keep in mind like you said, they are kids. Children. Maybe at the age of 11~14 who really are just getting into the whole internet thing. They are new to the anonimity it provides. Children are impulsive, that's just how it is. They don't have a whole lot of empathy for some other username they are talking to, because that's all we really are. Some pixels. They can go one of two ways : either grow to understand that not everything has to end in an argument and sometimes it is better to just let go and move on, OR they end up being lonely regulars of 9gag.com and similar websites where they continue their childish behavior well into adulthood.

Then there are the 16 year olds or so who clearly feel like grown ups and will talk down on other kids, even saying things like "I'm not a kid, I'm 16!". They'll grow out of it, but in a community that is fueled by constant anger and picking on each other there is no place for simple friendly words. Just like the whole cheating thing that completely blew up a couple days ago. It's just fire upon fire upon fire.

There are ALSO kids who get beat up at home and are looking for some attention here. Considering they are once again kids, you can't expect them to have a proper discussion because that's not the phase in life they are in yet. I try to pick them out and add them as friends so they can vent at me and I can give them some advice.

Like you said, they are just kids, they don't know better. A lot of them have nothing better to do but to go into the internet. Since they are little kids, they havn't really learned that not everything revolves around them and soon they'll grow out of the mindset that they will do something on they're own and to be more mature. Since a lot of them have parents that spoil them without any objections or arguments they can get into fights they can never win nor get out of at some times. But there are also people that give free items to other people and then they get to brag about all they're free loot they got from cheating the game. They will grow out of it when they grow up. But you have to remember that there are kids with something like Autism or Aspergers, not a lot pop up as some of them don't even know how to use a computer. They won't know what they have gotten into sometimes and will get into trouble.

Well, I mean, you’ve been there before. You’re at the playground watching your little one hustle through a tunnel or bake a fresh batch of sand muffins, and then in marches a miniature bully. You swear you see an evil gleam in his eye as he grabs the tin and knocks a nearby toddler on the head, or shouts an obnoxious command that makes your child shrink away with a quivering lip.

Kids can be really mean. In fact, it’s hard sometimes to watch my son and his preschool buddies play. If you linger long enough, inevitably someone ends up being teased (although, yes, it’s still pretty innocuous at this age), left out of a game, or bossed around. It’s as if these kids are trying on different personalities — testing out being nice, mean, or silly to see how their peers react.

What makes little kids mean, and why are some meaner than others? Is it in their DNA, the media they consume, or their home environment? There’s no one answer to this question, but there are a few things we know about what brings out the dark side of little kid behavior.

Testing social dynamics

In the preschool years, kids begin to figure out social structures and learn how to be effective in a group. When I watch little kids at work, it’s clear that a lot of the insults, grabbing, and put-downs are part of this experimentation with social dynamics. If I do x, will my friend do y? And (as I shutter to remember from my own playground experiences as a kid) meanness can draw attention and wield power. If a child rises to the top of the pack by intimidating or putting down others, it’s a technique that might just stick.


Television

We’ve all heard that violent screen time makes kids more physically aggressive. But surprisingly, educational TV (which most of our kids watch regularly) seems to make kids mean in a different way. Studies have shown that the more educational television kids watch, the more relationally aggressive (manipulative, insulting, and so forth) they are to their peers. Shows like PBS’ Arthur seem innocuous, but the lessons aren’t as desirable as we think. Researchers say that children’s programming contains a heavy dose of name-calling and put-downs that parents would never condone if it happened in real life. Even though the end of a show might have a nice moral conclusion, if 90 percent of the screen time is rude and hurtful, that will be the take-away.

Listen to the content of your kid’s shows to see how they stack up when it comes to relational aggression. How often does a character insult or boss another around? It’s hard to find media that doesn’t hinge on this type of banter (in fact, researchers have found that most kids shows do), but in our house for example, Sesame Street and The Backyardigans are winners as overwhelmingly positive shows.

The home front

There’s no doubt that kids learn a lot about how to treat others from how they are treated at home. Harsh parenting, including verbal and physical aggression, increases the likelihood that a kid will in turn be aggressive (although, for kids who are wired sensitively, this seems to not be the case — they tend to internalize their struggles rather than lash out, so they may not be the ones who bully on the playground).

Studies show that high marital conflict can spark behavioral problems, too, particularly when parents fighting turns nasty. A child who is mean or aggressive at school could be acting out the interactions he sees at home, or working through his feelings about them. As parents, we don’t have to worry about every little spousal tiff, though, since constructive fighting (in which parents vet feelings, listen to each other, and come to solutions) can actually boost a child’s level of social skill.

Temperament

Yes, parenting is important, but kids who are mean may be wired differently as well. For example, children who show impulsive-hyperactive behavior in early childhood are more likely to be physically aggressive in middle childhood. The ability to control impulses is a work in progress through adolescence (and into adulthood), but some kids are innately better at this than others, and these kids are less likely to act out.

Having a good “theory of mind” (the ability to see things from another person’s perspective) also helps kids play nicely and respect each other’s feelings. If a child is empathetic and appreciates that he has an impact on his friend, he’s less likely to be mean. For example, earlier this year, in a study in the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, researchers found that kids who had poor theory of mind skills at age five were more likely to both bully, and be bullied, at age 12. Parents can help here by talking to kids about their own feelings and how they affect other people (for example, by recognizing the meaning of facial expressions), starting in toddlerhood. Yes, some of our little ones are naturally wired empathetically, but this ability can be nurtured and taught, too.

Whatever the reason, each of our kids will encounter (or at times, be) the meanies of the world. What can we do, as parents? It’s so hard (for me, it’s bordering on impossible) to sit back and resist the impulse to jump in and save our kids from every negative encounter. Of course, we can’t. But if we’re aware of the roots of meanness and understand where it comes from, maybe we can make sense of it in our own minds, treat it as a growing experience, and ultimately help our budding little beings learn how to be kind and compassionate people.

Hate me for saying this but.

Children can be less matue then older people but there are still some mature, calm children.
Also chldren are angered because they get triggered on the forums by raging adults

Originally posted by GamerZGhost2015:

Hate me for saying this but.

Children can be less matue then older people but there are still some mature, calm children.
Also chldren are angered because they get triggered on the forums by raging adults

This post was 7 months ago. But I won't stop you from commenting on old posts.

Wow, it has been months since this thread was posting! But all the same, like I said before in my previous post, people often wonder what causes children to bully. Why is it that some children feel the need to hurt and humiliate other children? What do they really stand to gain from this cruel behavior?

Some studies indicate that some (not all) bullies have naturally aggressive and/or hyperactive personalities from the start. Some. But that doesn’t mean that all “spirited” kids will bully while all “mellow” kids will be perfectly empathic and kind. Those are just a couple of traits that have been identified in some bullies.


The truth is that bullies are not born into this world. Bullies are raised.

Bullying, at its core, is a learned behavior that is used in response to stress. Bullying is an attempt to gain superiority or control over another.

Bullies do tend to have a few things in common, and we can see this sometimes in Terraria:

Immature social skills
Lack of compassion and empathy
Poor impulse control
Watch more aggressive TV shows and play more aggressive video games
Due to immature social skills, bullies tend to view threats where there are none and identify other kids as hostile when they are not. Accidentally bump into a bully in line at the cafeteria, and a fight might erupt based on a snap judgment. Due to lack of compassion and empathy, bullies have difficulty understanding how others feel and they are unable to accurately decode situations in which other kids are actually attempting to show empathy toward them.

Although it can be difficult to find compassion for a bully, particularly when your child is the target of one, there is generally a reason behind the bullying. That’s not to say that bullies should not face consequences. They should. And zero tolerance is the only way to truly eradicate bullying.

It can be useful, however, to understand some of the reasons why kids become bullies:

1. Strained parental relationships. Bullies often lack warm, caring, and involved parents. Parents of bullies tend to be highly competitive and place unreasonable demands on their children to be superior to other kids (academically, socially, athletically, etc.). These parents often have prejudices based on race, sex, wealth, and achievements. They teach their children to compete at all costs, and to win by whatever means.

2. Inconsistent discipline. Bullies often lack consistent discipline at home. Their parents tend to have difficulty setting limits and/or struggle to hold them accountable for their behavior.

3. Poor academic performance. Some kids bully in response to academic stress. When they struggle in the classroom and feel that they are not being helped, they may begin to lose hope. When hope is lost, children act out. This can translate to bullies seeking “revenge” on the higher achieving kids.

4. Unsupportive peer networks. Children who are isolated and feel disliked or unsupported by peers often turn to bullying to gain some social control. Their distorted thinking causes them to believe that controlling other kids = having friends.

5. Child abuse. There is ample evidence that children who are physically abused by their parents turn around and bully other kids. These same kids are likely to develop anxiety, depression, and drug & alcohol problems and will probably abuse their own kids later in life. Abuse is cyclical.

6. Victims of bullies. Many bullies have actually been victims of bullies at another time. Due to lack of support, poor social skills, and relying on learned behaviors, these kids use bullying behaviors to try to gain superiority and control so that they will no longer be victimized.

7. Low self-esteem. When you add up all of the possibilities, it should come as no surprise that bullies tend to struggle with self-esteem. The outward behaviors they choose to show mask their true inner feelings. They lack self-confidence, struggle to fit in, and are often ridiculed and marginalized by their own parents and/or siblings.

There are steps we can take to avoid raising bullies. I can’t stress to you enough the importance of building positive relationships with your children. They need to feel loved, supported, and heard by their parents. They will make poor choices at times and fail where we wish they would succeed, but they are our children, and we need to love them anyway.

Below are a few tips to work on building those positive relationships:

Praise them often. Praise their big accomplishments as well as the little things that make them great every day.
Listen when they need to be heard.
Help them problem solve.
Encourage positive peer relationships.
Build positive sibling relationships. Avoid comparisons, as this breeds unhealthy competition among siblings.
Set limits and hold them accountable for their behavior.
Teach empathy every day.
Carve out special time with each child and spend that time doing something that you both enjoy.
Talk often, even when you think they are not listening.
Stay calm; model appropriate conflict resolution skills.
Decrease exposure to violent TV, movie, and video content.
Be present.
There is some good news in all of this. Bullies are not born; bullies are raised. We have the opportunity to raise children who will choose to be empathic, kind, and loyal friends. All we have to do is teach them those skills.

Originally posted by TooMuchDog:

Well, Terraria appeals to all audiences really, despite being rated T (I think?). All you need is a VISA card and $10, which isn't hard to come by for the average child. Someone sees Terraria on YouTube, and suddenly they impulse buy it. Then, it's much harder than it looks, and if there is anything children want, it's to be powerful in a game. I think all of us are guilty of cheating in some game at some point in our lives. Yes, the community can be be... worrisome. Just look at minecrafts fan base, or even Pokémons. It is what it is unfortunately, but that's why we have these community groups, so we can properly funnel proper audiences depending on multiple factors. That's just my two cents though.

This guy has it all correct as well. Cheers for hitting it spot on, mate.

Is it bad that I cheated after I completed about 85 percond of Terraria? I'm also fourteen.

Originally posted by Seabrass:

Is it bad that I cheated after I completed about 85 percond of Terraria? I'm also fourteen.

Well, rules are meant to be broken; video games are no exception. Cheating has a long and storied history in video games, from the infamous Konami code to playing as Bill Clinton in NBA Jam. But that was back when gaming meant sitting huddled around a TV in the basement with your friends. Now, players log into online gaming platforms like Xbox Live to compete with 46 million other gamers. The adage “you’re only cheating yourself” doesn’t ring true when gamers take on millions of other people, and even the video game development companies themselves.

In 2011, the online gaming industry made $19 billion, not only from the sale of the original software, but also from countless microtransactions that happen during game play. Video game expert Scott Steinberg says that a relatively small group of cheaters can chase legitimate players (and their money) away from online gaming. “It’s entirely possible to break not only the in-game economy, but the actual economics around the game.” To avoid this, Steinberg says game developers spend vast amounts of time and money policing their game servers trying to find and ban cheaters.

According to Mia Consalvo, author of the book Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames, cheating for real world profit has been going on for almost two decades, and has cost the video game industry millions of dollars. One of the more common forms of cheating involves the use of “bots,” which are small pieces of code designed to automate certain game processes and gather materials valuable in a particular game. “Instead of selling these things in the game, they’d list them on eBay, and make real money that way.” Consalvo adds.

In 2009, a player named Michael Donnelly developed a particularly effective bot called a “glider” to be used in the popular online game World of Warcraft, and began selling it to gamers through his company, MDY Industries LLC. The District Court of Arizona found Donnelly guilty of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, shutting down the operation and setting the legal precedent that cheating by rewriting or overriding the code of online games isn’t just unscrupulous — it’s illegal.

As the online gaming market expands through cell phone gaming, PC gaming and a strengthening of console games’ online offerings, space for cheaters to operate will only continue to grow. Unlike the video games being fought over, the struggle between the cheaters and game developers won’t be won with strategy and skill, it will be won with money.