Family Tech Blog

Tag: building

  • Roblox Has Hit 90 Million Users

    Roblox Has Hit 90 Million Users

    That little game your kids like to play, Roblox, has hit 90 million users as of this week. The company is worth more than 2 billion dollars and has expanded globally to add more than twenty million users over the past six months. Roblox is a gaming “platform” more than a game, giving users the ability to create their own levels and share them with others who play the game. When you log in to Roblox you see a list of user-generated levels that you can play. You join with other users and try out the different games which include combat, stealth, mazes, puzzles, and sometimes just overall silliness. Some of the user built levels are just places to hang out and meet new people.

    Roblox has been considered social gaming from the beginning. The entire platform is designed around allowing users to share their content within the game. This requires you to meet new people and possibly even chat with them in order to fully enjoy the game. When you first log in you see multiple games listed that you can choose from. Most of the starting games are curated by the developers but once you start meeting new people you can be invited to their creations and who knows where you’ll end up at that point. This is the concern for many parents when it comes to Roblox.

    Musical.ly is now Tik Tok

    What Parents Should Know

    I played a bit of Roblox recently and could definitely see the appeal. The user made levels are pretty neat and very elaborate. I played a silly banana game, tried a “Wipeout” style obstacle course, and played around in a world of puzzles. Really there is no limit to the amount of fun you can have in the app, the only guideline is imagination. This is a great thing for kids as long as the community rules are followed in the way they are supposed to be.

    There are parental controls available and their password protected but they could hinder some of the options in the game. It is intended to be played in a public and sharable social setting. There have been instances when people have abused some of the settings in the app to perform inappropriate behavior in the game. This will always be a possibility when a game is meant to be so extensively social. There is also no age verification which means you can claim to be whatever age you want when you create your account. I created a 13-year-old girl, just to prove the point.

    Roblox is on my uninstall list because of the social nature of the game. There aren’t really any alternatives that work exactly like Roblox but there are games that will let you craft and build and get creative while staying offline. Games like Toca Builders (Android/iOS)can give you the building features while Toca Life World (Android/iOS) is a game made for older kids that gives a safer environment to explore and play in a world they create on their own. With 90 million users, Roblox has a lot of people creating games and communicating with the kids that are playing. Being careful that your kids can’t just talk to random strangers online is one of the most important things we can do to protect them.

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  • CES 2018: Family Tech Product Rollouts and Predictions for 2018 Tech

    CES 2018: Family Tech Product Rollouts and Predictions for 2018 Tech

    My first day at CES 2018 was kind of split into two categories. I spent the first half of my time at a press conference and a market research report. This may not sound fun to you but this information is why I’m here. There’s lots of information being shared and learned here that can benefit parents as we work to raise healthy kids in this digital culture. Along with a couple of videos, I wanted to present a simple list that will show you a little bit of what I learned here at CES on media day one.

    Day One Takeaways

    • Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are being used for diagnosis and treatment by doctors and other healthcare providers.
    • Voice Controlled speakers were the name of the tech industry game in 2017 with a 279% increase in purchases with another 60% of growth expected in 2018.
    • 715 million connected devices are expected to be sold in 2018 to the tune of $351 billion.
    • Augmented reality will be making its way into our everyday lives with uses like shopping, gaming, and health tech.
    • Companion robots are bursting onto the scene. Used as a “family companion,” photos and video, security, speaker, entertainment, and even sleep and home health management.
    • People are more aware of how artificial intelligence (how websites and connected devices collect our data) works and getting acclimated to using it.
    • Virtual reality is becoming a real tool for the fitness and home gym industry.

    Family Tech Product Releases

    • Alexa ready baby monitor. By Project Nursery (More in videos)
    • In device augmented and virtual reality toy gun with 6 depths of field. By MERGEVR (More in videos.)
    • Jimu build and code robot. (Also in video)

    Final Thoughts

    Technology is continuing to move forward faster tthanwe can imagine. The biggest talk at this year’s CES is about voice command technology like Alexa and Google home, self-driving cars, and augmented reality content. As parents, our we should understand that our kids are going to be some of the first adopters of much of this technology and so it is important that we understand it. Kids aren’t watching content just on their televisions anymore, they aren’t having to type search terms into Google, and they are always always connected. That is what was said at day one the most, we are moving from the digital age to the connected age. You’re connected, your kids are connected, and so is everyone else so be sure to stay in the loop so that you can keep every connection safer.

    Stay tuned tomorrow for my report on day 2 of CES Media Days where I’ll talk about teen market research and more about the future of connectivity. Share this article with your friends and let them know that you’re keeping track of the latest tech trends by following FamilyTechBlog.com’s reporting on CES2018.