Minecraft, the virtual world that most parents just do not understand how it works, is officially the biggest live audience ever on YouTube.
According to the video portal, the game name, a digital kind of Lego that allows players to build virtual worlds, has become the second most searched term on the site, behind only “music”.
This is in contrast with previous research done by Newzoo and Octoloy companies, which had identified that videos related to Minecraft had been viewed 3.9 billion times on YouTube just last March.
None of this is a surprise to the parents of children who have become accustomed to beg for their children to close the windows of Minecraft on the computer for cycling, playing ball, going to court or do anything else besides spending hours watching others build virtual worlds on the Internet.
Enthusiasm or obsession?
Minecraft lets you build and manage virtual worlds
It is a fact that many parents are concerned about the different levels of enthusiasm / obsession / addiction demonstrated by their children to play Minecraft, as shown by many posts on social networks and in media reports.
Parents complain that the game seems to have become the center of life of these children; they become irritable when not ‘connected’ in the game, which show careless in relation to schoolwork and everyday tasks in their homes. Some decided to completely ban the game or strongly limit the time matches.
One of the parents, to explain why restricted access to her twin boys to the game, simply said. “Minecraft, as well as the main vices, has no end In turn, the childhood of my children is not infinta, and I want they spend learning about the real world, not on a virtual world. “
But for others, the game does not hurt the children – as long as at least do something creative. But spend hours and hours watching other people play is an unprecedented level of obsession.
Vasto content
Certainly, there is a vast catalog of content related to Minecraft on YouTube. There are about 42 million videos, clips that give step by step to build new things or new ways to modify existing worlds to those who simply show matches recordings.
There are also hundreds of channels dedicated to Minecraft. Some of them have become sensations on the Internet, such as Yogscast and SkyDoesMinecraft.
Stampy, aimed at children, is a YouTube channel which features narration of a cat; it has over 5.6 million subscribers and nearly 3.4 billion views. In 2014, was the fourth most popular channel on YouTube.
Others are less suitable for children, with videos described by parents as “useful but full of profanity.”
Bec Oakley, MineMum founder, a blog that helps parents understand what is Minecraft, says not surprised by the fact that the game has become so popular on YouTube.
“YouTube is the television of this generation. It is as children are entertained, learn and share. In addition, there is much content available, and much of it is attractive, educational and useful for children.”
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It recognizes that Minecraft is “definitely a game that children can become obsessed, and watch matches on YouTube can be part of this obsession.” But adds he does not believe this to be a sign of a larger problem.
“A more important factor is the time spent on it and the effects on mood and health of children,” said Oakley.
“It is important that parents help their children to enjoy the Minecraft healthily, talking to them about knowing when to take breaks and establishing rules, rewarding them when they were issued.”
Community
But what makes Minecraft so popular for so many children?
The Mojang, creators Swedish game company that was acquired by Microsoft last year, not specifically developed for children.
According to the programmer and designer Markus Persson, the game creator, Minecraft was inspired by other games like Dawrf Fortress, in which virtual worlds can be built and operated, the amusement parks simulator RollerCoaster Tycoon and the strategy game Dungeon Keeper .
But Mojang always encouraged players to place their own videos on YouTube.
And unlike the Japanese company Nintendo, which monitors clips that use their characters and games to demand the advertising revenue from them, Mojang has always approached this type of behavior less rigid way.
“Basically, we outsource the videos on YouTube for the community of millions of people, and they have created something more creative than we could ever do on its own. It does not affect us,” said Vu Bui, director of operations Mojang told The Guardian in last year.
While that Minecraft exploded in popularity, so has YouTube among younger viewers. – In February 2015, nine of the 20 most watched channels of the portal were facing this kind of public
“Watching other people playing Minecraft allows children to broaden the experience they have with the game, to be able to share and learn from each other,” says Oakley, the MineMum blog.
effects in the brain
Minecraft can not stimulate creativity as many think, indicates study
There have also been studies, some of them controversial, analyzing the video game effects on the brain.
Researchers in China have, for example, magnetic resonance imaging on the brains of 18 college students spent an average of ten hours a day playing World of Warcraft, an online RPG.
Compared with another group who spent less than two hours a day playing, the first presented less gray matter, the part of the brain responsible for reasoning.
And in the early 1990s, scientists warned that as video games stimulate the brain regions that control vision and movement, other parties responsible for emotion and learning could be less developed.
In terms of specific research on Minecraft, an article signed by psychologists Jun Lee and Robert Pasin in Quartz magazine suggests that it may not be as creative as some parents expect.
“Creativity is limited by combinations of tools and materials available for the game to build worlds So, players have only one mission:.. Create increasingly complex structures Even though this seems to be a very creative experience, children who study reported feel angry and emotions to the surface after Minecraft matches. “
The game, the researchers said, is “less about a game with endless possibilities and more about working to fulfill endless construction tasks.”
And this phenomenon, in which players spend a lot of time watching the games on the site, occurs with other games. As, for example, my son, who has never been a fan of Minecraft and enjoy watching matches of FIFA Soccer, sometimes for hours on end.
Children tend to get obsessed with certain things. There is a long list of toys and games that have become an obsession for them, only to be discarded without ceremony some years later.
Perhaps this also end up being the target Minecraft, and children return to watch videos of cuddly animals on YouTube like any other ordinary person.
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