From Discord to the Metaverse: Building New Kids Communities Online
How are kids in the US building new, online communities in the wake of Covid-19? What role does the Metaverse play in all of this?
Those are the questions we explored with US-based research agency, LitBrains earlier this year - learning a bit more about their take on how American children’s habits shifted during the pandemic, both for the positive and for the negative.
We recorded this interview as a video podcast (link below to subscribe!) - but we’ve also included the transcript below, if that’s a bit easier. Enjoy!
How are kids in the US building new online communities?
Auger Insights: Today I'm having a chat with Pam Goldfarb Liss. She is the president and ‘Big Brain’ of Litbrains, a research agency based in the States. Pam, how are you?
Pam Goldfarb Liss: I'm doing great. How are you doing, Sam?
AI: Thank you very much for sitting down with me today and having this chat!
So to start with, I know the pandemic is still very fresh in our minds. A lot of people wouldn't have forgotten about those years. But if you could remind me nonetheless: if we look back over the past few years, how were kids in the US specifically using tech and other media products to stay connected over that period?
PGL: Tech was their whole world, right? Their connection to school, their connection to friends, using FaceTime with friends. Oftentimes they had those little watch parties that became very hip during the pandemic. It was a good way to watch a movie together, do the things that they would do in person, because they can't be in person.
So it was all about connecting. It was sort of taking, I think, that platform from video games. They were doing that in gaming even before the pandemic, where they would play a video game and they could sort of connect through the internet and play with their friends and not have to leave their house.
And I think during the pandemic, that occurred more as well with the younger kids connecting with each other. Parents sort of let down their guard. Here in the US, we have a big issue with privacy and parents are very overzealous about protecting their kids. And I think that washed away during the pandemic as well. And so the communities with the younger kids also opened up.
Discord is something that's more in the teenage years still, but Discord became a bigger deal. And we saw even in the 2020 election for our president: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she hosted a whole Discord for the 18-year-old first-time voters that was really a popular thing. All those things sort of melded together.
Those communities grew because we just had no other choice.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is well-known for engaging with youth trends - such as the video game Among Us
AI: Did you notice anything about the types of communities that were being built by kids over this period? Were they different from any of the friendship groups that they might have in the physical space?
PGL: I remember in high school not being able to find my group. And now I think kids online can easily find each other.
I do believe like the LGBTQ groups, in particular, really found each other in this period. Especially here in the States, there's a lot of like gender exploration going on. And I think it's happened more post-pandemic because I think they can find each other. It's mostly teens, but I do think that even the younger kids are able to sort of find groups and connect to people that are like them a lot quicker, which is kind of a cool opportunity to connect that way. And you can find people that you really fit with.
It's a lot easier than I remember as a teen. When you can literally sort your friends by, you know, subreddit, or maybe it's Roblox game type, it does make it a bit easier to find people like you. It's pretty cool.
And, you know, and there's a lot of mental health things that were going on during the pandemic. And I think there's a lot of resources now that are helping to connect people with similar concerns. In some cases, people are able to get access to help a lot quicker because they're finding ways to connect with others a lot quicker than before. Which is a positive side of this, I guess.
AI: Was there any pushback that you saw in the States from this more connected life, or was it really just, you know, ‘this is life’? This is kind of what we have to deal with?
PGL: I think there was, a little bit.
I think initially parents were just so overwhelmed. You just give your kids that tablet and just let them go. And so I think there was just a lot less supervision, just because parents couldn't do it. It was sort of mid pandemic when I think we all went, ‘Whoa, what happened here? Is this good? Is this bad?’ And I think there was a little bit of pullback.
I think there's more of a balance going on right now, where kids should definitely play outside. But I mean, this is a necessary evil now.
AI: Another side of this is the metaverse. Buzzword, I know. But you can look at the metaverse as an extension of two years online. You can kind of see how the metaverse evolved out of what we've been through over the past few years. I didn't know your thoughts on that and if you saw any interesting things happening with US kids in this space – if it's something that they're thinking about and talking about, or is this just like an industry thing?
PGL: To answer your question twofold, it definitely is still an industry thing. But I think it's also one of those things, if you build it, they will come. It's growing.
And I think the kids see the experience as an important thing, because the kids have already been doing this. I know my daughter who's 13 is already using it. Since she's been eight or nine, she's been doing things where she plays all sorts of different games. It's still, it's a metaverse. They get different things, they buy different things that literally cost money. So they've already been, from a kids perspective, training for this metaverse that that's coming. And I think we as adults are going to be more shocked than the kids.
AI: It's kind of a hard one, because I think on one side, people look at the metaverse, and they go, it feels a bit predatory. You know, brands maybe taking advantage of kids by taking their money through little transactions, and the things they’re buying don't really have any translation into the real world. You know, if you buy a skin in Fortnite, that isn't a thing you own, it's just a bit of code they're allowing you to use.
But at the other side of this, you know, where kids can experience something you couldn’t otherwise do. You can experience a concert in Roblox, for example - a kid somewhere in Wyoming who isn't able to get to a venue can see someone like George Ezra playing. At least they can have this experience then take part in this conversation. So there's a nice balance, I think, going on there, which is kind of really interesting to unpack.
George Ezra taking part in a Metaverse concert on Roblox
PGL: I mean, I would argue that we as adults have also seen that change, too, because a lot of us have moved from urban centers, where it's expensive to live, to bedroom communities or rural communities. And now we're going to be able to get some of the great things that we got living in urban communities.
I've talked to a lot of kids who are going to Broadway plays because they're watching them on YouTube, right? Bringing that into the metaverse. How cool is that? They're getting culture, you know?
AI: Pam, thank you so much for all of this! So tell me a bit more about Lit Brains. What are you doing next?
PGL: I've been doing this for 30 years. And I think, you know, working with kids and teens, my whole purpose really is to make those conversations productive. And, and while I love doing it, I want to sort of spread the word and help others learn how to have productive conversations with kids and teens, because they're so darn interesting. So I have started something called Mission Kid Possible, which teaches professionals in research, mostly how to have those productive conversations. And the Mission Kid Possible is a learning website. It's on my website, LitBrains.com. And, and there's courses to take that are on demand or live. And I also teach a three day course. So I'm really and that's all online.
And I'm really excited. It's my metaverse. So how about that?
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