Is Zynga’s YoVille OK for kids?
p2pnet news view Kids & Kartels | Games:- “YoVille is a world where you can buy new clothes for your player, purchase items for your apartment, go to work, and meet new friends,” says Facebook.
It’s also a place where kids can pretend to get drunk and where they can be picked up by sexual predators, says Emma Newton.
The application is social networking game for Facebook which, at 9:15 AM Pacific, was boasting 4,878,773 monthly active users.
Facebook says it provides links to applications “as a courtesy,” but makes, “no representations regarding the applications or any information related to them”.
We home school our daughter, Emma, and the Net is part of her life. It’s both an educational/research tool, and a way for her to hang out with friends online via a purpose-built home school application she uses all the time, together with other programmes.
I work online and I’ve spent hours explaining the pit-falls and the ups and downs of the Net and I’m fine with letting her go online to do pretty well what she wants to do within the two hours she’s theoretically allowed.
I say theoretically because I’m not looking over her shoulder all the time and I expect her to log off when it’s time to log off.
In other words, I trust her.
Sometimes my wife and I worry she’s too fond of the Net. But it’s an integral part of life in the digital 21st century and will become even more so as she grows up.
But parents worry about everything. It’s their job.
So when she asked if she could join YoVille, explaining it was a kind of virtual world, I said Yes, figuring if it was on Facebook, it couldn’t be too bad: that as mercenary as Facebook’s owners are, they’re not stupid enough to allow anything really offensive on the site.
Then last night, “Dad, can I do a post on Facebook for p2pnet?” – Emma, who’s 12, asked. Of course, I said. (As far as I and my wife, Liz, are concerned, writing this kind of thing is much the same as writing an essay in school, only better because it’s self-selected instead of imposed.)
So I logged on this morning and found the item below waiting for me — and I emphasise this is her own work written when I wasn’t around, and unedited by me.
I should also make it clear YoVille isn’t exclusively a Facebook application. It’s also on MySpace and for all I know, on other sites as well.
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THE REAL YOVILLE
Topics: Alchohol on YoVille / no age limit / pedophiles and people asking for “cam shows” / no chat filter / cyber bullying / Bikini bottoms are thongs / Gambling is encouraged.
YoVille is a world where you can buy new clothes for your player, purchase items for your apartment, go to work, and meet new friends,” says creator, Zynga. Sounds fun, and completly kid friendly right?
But to make a long story short, it’s anything BUT kid friendly! There is an extreme lack of a chat filter, allowing the “F Word” and others just as bad to be said freely, often in the presence of kids as young as 10!
Okay, so maybe they have a SMALL chat filter — IE if you say the full word (shit, for example) it gets blanked out as “yadda”. But if you put a space in between any of the letters (s hit) it gets through.
I think there should at least be an age limit for it (18+?), given how it’s easy for sexual predators to lure victims in, giving them YoMoney and items in return for this.
I have come across several people (usually men) as old as 43 trying to get girls as young as 13 to role play sexual acts via the game, and give so-called “cam shows”.
These basically consist of you giving them your cam adress, and stripping on cam.
I myself have been asked more times than I can count. Whenever I got asked, I basically told the person involved to go jump off a cliff.
Feel like getting drunk? Just head down to the all ages Sky Nightclub and grab a martini! Because they make it so FUN to get drunk!
Or feeling lucky? Just head down to the Casino!
There is no age limit for this game, making it possible for people of any age to be on.
In the Dating section of the Events page, there are usually sex parties. I once even saw one called “14 and under sx party”.
It’s a breeding ground for pedophiles and the like. I think that it’s best if kids don’t go on it at all.
I hope that by writing this, parents who have kids on YoVille will take a closer look into whether or not they REALLY want their kid on this.
Thanks for reading my rant 
Stay safe!
Emma Newton
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Emma doesn’t go there any more. But her post shook me and, wanting to see if anyone else was concerned, I found Younger Kids on YoVille.
The first post said »»»
i thought that the yoville site was only suppose to be for adults 18 and up but yet there are a bunch of 13 and 14 year olds running around on there. i think in the terms of survice states the age for the site is 18 and some how they should be kicked off for lying about their ages both on facebook and on yoville. who agrees with me on this and hope they can do something about this.
However, Emma joined from her existing Facebook account, on which she clearly says she’s 12. And she told me YoVille didn’t ask her how old she was when she signed up for it.
She says ’skimmed’ the ToS and didn’t see anything there, although she might have missed it.
Anyway, “How many kidsd are going to read that?”- she asked.
Says another post on Younger Kids on YoVille »»»
This is far from the first (or I’m sure the last time) this issue has been brought up. Facebook and Yoville allow you to be at the youngest 13 if you are in highschool. And you are supposed to have parental consent to be able to be on this site. The thing is it’s not our responsibility to remove these kids from the site. It’s the parents responsibility to monitor their child. My 12 year old neice lies about her age to have a myspace (which you have to be 16 to have) and my sister in law agress to this behavior. So many suggestions have come out about making them their own server or banning them, but the facts are they’re gonna lie and the parents aren’t going to do anything to stop it. I recently likened it to getting a fake id and going to a club, same thing. Getting a friend to buy tickets to an R rated film, same thing. It’s not gonig to change. Just be aware of who might be around you and if the conversation gets too out of hand for younger players, move to a private room.
And there are other comments in much the same vein.
But as I said earlier, Emma wasn’t asked about her age. “When I signed up there were no terms of agreement,” she tells me. “There was just the page to create your character.
“The only thing that did pop up at first was something showing you how to use YoVille, all the different shops, and stuff.”
“It’s the parents responsibility to monitor their child,” says the post above, and I’d agree, up to a point.
Liz and I are probably far more aware of what Emma does and doesn’t do during her day than most parents. She’s with us most of the time, except when she’s with friends, out on her bike, and so on.
How can you stop kids from going to sites such as YoVille? You can’t, unless you’re hovering over them every minute of their online time. All you can do is make sure you’ve told them everything you can about the dangers, what to do, and what not to do.
IMHO, kids today are in far more danger offline than on.
We live in a tiny village on Vancouver Island and we see kids as young as eight or nine with makeup and tight jeans hanging with boys, day and night, summer and winter.
Where are their parents?
I often take the bus to Duncan, about half-an-hour away, and there are always six or seven young kids on it, using language and talking about things which as a dad, make my blood run cold.
They get off the bus and light up.
But back to YoVille: Emma decided she didn’t want to be on it any more, and I’m glad she did.
Facebook isn’t to blame for what goes on there, and nor is MySpace. However, the owners of both sites — and indeed of any site – decide what apps to allow, and what not to.
Facebook in particular claims to be a good corporate citizen, always looking out for the welfare of the people who use it. So maybe it’s time it and the other site owners paid a little more attention to what they link to and, by implication, approve of. Or not.
All an app needs to be accepted by users of any age is to be cool and engaging (look at Scroogle).
Jon Newton – p2pnet
March, 2009
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March 18th, 2009 at 10:43 am
very nice read made even more impressive considering it was written by an obviously very intelligent 12yr old. good job emma! and good job dad for raising such a well adjusted daughter.
this is how i will be raising my son. me and my wife plan on home schooling and introducing him to computers before he can walk, hes currently 4months and has his own aspire one which right now we simply use to induce a coma like state thanks to winamp visualizations, keeps him busy for a while
we currently carry him for most of day in a sling and thanks to him watching us work he already knows the dynamics of typing, not how to type of obviously but he knows that if you press a key its represented onscreen.
id be very proud if my son turns out like yourself emma.
July 16th, 2009 at 12:20 am
YOU are the first defense as a parent…………YOU should check out a new site FIRST………she is STILL 12 years old and not that she isn’t a very impressive one should NEVER rely on trust when it comes to the rest of the world. Call it defensive parenting 101. Just like teaching them to drive…………they may be fantastic drivers doesn’t mean they won’t get hit by someone else.
The internet is a HUGE place and still relatively new in the scheme of things. The site does require you to be 18. Many do, but you can’t really inforce that.
There are many Mom’s and Dad’s on the site that have fun playing it who do bring up their ages and we try but you can only do so much. I would recommend you check out new sites b4 approving anything. She’s going to be a teenager in the blink of an eye and BELIEVE me they need to be supervised more then than ever b4.
July 21st, 2009 at 9:54 pm
yes
July 24th, 2009 at 10:55 am
i was scammed all my money on yoville what shall i do
July 27th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
i like to let my child do what ever she whants
July 27th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
keep an eye on my child
July 27th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
i love my child so keep an eye on her
August 11th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
From all I’ve read it sounds like you are guarding her from the outer world pretty much. (Home school, permission for everything.) It’s… odd for person like me, living in Czech Republic. I know pretty much that school is sort of my only touch with outer world with the lifestyle I’ve chosen.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Okay, my daughter just signed up for this YoVille game the other day when her friend sent her the request. The reason I was checking around was to see what can take place in the game. My daughter’s friend sent a kiss through the game and that seemed somewhat innocent except it seemed to describe it in a more special way than just a peck on the cheek greeting. Then my daughter clicked on some button for dance and the other character automatically comes on with something about let’s take it slow. So since my daughter is only on the acquantence level I just wanted to know how advanced this gets once you are best friends with someone.
Anyone actually know??????
August 30th, 2009 at 3:58 am
@ Nick
Once you are best friends things move to the bedroom. For a sneak peak of the graphic nature of these YoVillian character’s just head the character into the bathroom and click on the toilet. Hard to tell if this game is for children or adults. Somehow I suspect it attracts the immature adults and children. Either way it’s really not appropriate for anyone under the age of 16.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
ok i got scammed i was going to sell my 2 dogs,my white board ,and my t.v. for 22′000 all together but somehow when i put the stuff in the trade box thing he put in 1 coin and i only got one coin for all that stuff plz help me!!!!!!!
you already have my email address and my password is a12345
October 5th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
this is my first time doing this.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
have any of you sind up for yoville.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
is there any one on here.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
my brothers name is dj and my name is sara
October 5th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
my brother thinks he,s a super herry called ice man.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
yes freaks
October 27th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
they need to make a kids only yoville
November 6th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Just let the kids have a Yoville like the adults. I Angel to want a Yoville and I am ongly 9 years old. I watch my mom,aunt,bigbrother,and bigsister play on Yoville and have fun. So you should take some time out and read this do what your heart tells you to do. It’s not my choise to tell you what to do it’s your choise do what you think is best for your life and don’t let others tell you what to do. If the children want a Yoville give one to them if your heart tells you to. Bye good luck and thanks.