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Found this on Reddit: playing with a group of 11-14 year olds:

ItsCalledALance··68 votes·8,664 views
So I was playing with a group of 11-14 year old kids... * /r/leagueoflegends

Just a reminder that this eye opening thing exists.

Credit goes to PlatTwoIsHell

"I'm a 20 year old college student and two days ago I was paid to watch over a few kids while their parents were away. It turns out three of them played league and since I brought my laptop with me, we decided to play some normals together. I only played two games before I forced myself to stop. It was one of the most traumatic experiences I've ever had. Game 1: I went syndra mid while the kids went elsewhere. Within 10 minutes I was 3-0 in lane, while they all died a few times. I didn't think much of it since I'm platinum and they were bronze. However, they all started blaming each other and the one random we had on our team. They raged at everything. The lagg, their fps, their ping, everything besides themselves. Two of them ragequit before we could surrender and the game was over before 20 minutes. Game 2: Same start, except this time two of them couldn't connect due to the "firewall" error. I took a look at their computers to see what the problem was. I couldn't believe the amount of malware and incorrectly chosen settings they had. All they did was blame riot and riot's servers when their complete lack of knowledge about anything related to computers was the problem. I'm not a computer science major myself, but I can at least keep league running fine unless riot's servers crash (in which case everyone disconnects). Before that day, I thought that people who went afk had legitimate reasons to do so. However, I now realize that most of these afks have severe self control problems and lack basic knowledge about computers and how the internet works. Also, I used to believe that ragers were people who've had a bad day. Now I'm inclined to believe that they're just young, spoiled kids. Before this incident I thought that plat soloQ was bad, but now I feel lucky that I don't have it worse. It must be hell in bronze and silver. I hope that riot will somehow address this problem. Maybe they can force constant afkers to take lessons on computer maintenance, or maybe they will implement a form of age verification similar to Korea. I don't know what is the best solution, but I now understand why several of my college peers stopped playing league entirely."

96 Comments

AquariusGine33 votes

I have a 26 year old friend who is exactly like this, she's in bronze elo hell and blames just about everybody except herself

Antonidas141 votes

So you're friends with Kaceytron...

The Soulforged2 votes

Friends with kaceytron and the player posting here that has a name called kacieytron... Coincidence? I think not!

gubigubi17 votes

IDK how you only got silver 1 last season because that comment was gold.

Rock Rockburgh6 votes

...I'm stealing this.

GetBoomedOn26 votes

Simply put, kids ruin games. Straight up from what you said, but also because the fact that they ask parents to pay for DLC and things like RP without a second thought b/c they see their parents money as endless supplies of money, and not as an exhaustible resource. They don't contemplate the worth of the things they buy because they don't pay for it. So when they buy shit content and overpriced in-game goods like RP, this encourages companies to continue to put out cheap bullshit because it WILL sell.

I wish games had a way to verify age like you must upload some type of verification like a driver's license. Then you could be put into 18+ servers. Even if the kids somehow stole a parent's there still would be far less kids online. No I.D.? that's okay, you just will have to play with the kids.

Knightsundere25 votes

While I agree with all of your points, adding a system like that would do more harm than it would good for the rest of us below 18. Generalizing is always necessary to fix an issue that affects more than one person, but it doesn't mean it should be implemented if there are too many people being generalized. I'm under 18, work for all of my money, try to stay as positive as possible in Silver V, and I haven't left a game in over 4 months (pre-4 months ago, I was part of the group that was forced to leave by parents, referring to an earlier thread on here about that). I binge heavily on RP and the like, but it's the only thing currently that I find worth it, even if I am in a lower ELO with little reason to buy it other than for cosmetic pleasure. Sure, just because I'm an exception from the group doesn't mean a system based off of age is a bad idea and that it shouldn't be a reality, but if it was, it prevents me and the people like me from playing and enjoying the game as well.

There's a difference between bad players who are inherently bad and refuse to change to be better, and bad people who are willing and trying to learn. Let's say there's a ratio of 1/4 latter/former. If it's only four people playing, then sure, kick out the one kid. It's one person, and cynical as it may sound, who cares about him. The other three are happier now. But if the ratio is something like 2 million/8 million, then it's far too many people to make unhappy.

Don't misunderstand me, I severely dislike the high RP costs. I'm just in a position where I don't mind spending $50 every month or so.

Changer YYC4 votes

I mean, shit, if the toxic spoiled kids actually got banned then it wouldn't be an issue.

Slaaneshine2 votes

Though people forget that while that those kids are the issue, a few bad apples spoil the bunch as they say. It's not exactly fair either way to anyone in the end, though parents should really have a tighter reign on their children these days...

Rinky Dinky1 votes

Rp isnt really overpriced lol

GetBoomedOn1 votes

{quoted}

Rp isnt really overpriced lol

There are entire games that are cheaper than some LoL skins. If you feel like Demonblade tryndamere, Spirit guard Udyr, Pulsefire Ezreal, etc are worth more than some extremely successful games such as Counter Strike then that's you. But I look at things comparatively.

Rinky Dinky2 votes

Thats why Riot is known as one of the best companies as far as their prices and content goes.

Because they are overpriced.

Lmao

I can look at things comparatively as well friend. With the amount of content League has at default, Riot could get away with charging ALOT more than they do now.

The ONLY thing that is overpriced is IP. Way too much time investment needed to get a reasonable amount.

Nagirah2 votes

I might be under 18, but I always act very mature. Implententing this idea would be horrible, because all the nice adults go away leaving these whiny kids left like the op described... please no, I would quit instantly.

I Main Swain6 votes

I wouldn't say kids as much as immature people. there are tons of kids out there who are surprisingly mature and tons of adults out there who are ridiculously immature.

CupcakeTrap4 votes

{quoted}

Simply put, kids ruin games. Straight up from what you said, but also because the fact that they ask parents to pay for DLC and things like RP without a second thought b/c they see their parents money as endless supplies of money, and not as an exhaustible resource. They don't contemplate the worth of the things they buy because they don't pay for it. So when they buy shit content and overpriced in-game goods like RP, this encourages companies to continue to put out cheap bullshit because it WILL sell.

I wish games had a way to verify age like you must upload some type of verification like a driver's license. Then you could be put into 18+ servers. Even if the kids somehow stole a parent's there still would be far less kids online. No I.D.? that's okay, you just will have to play with the kids.

I've met some under-18 people in Factions. Sure, they're perhaps on average a bit more excitable and volatile than others, but I definitely wouldn't want them banned from the server. I enjoy playing with them and having them as part of the Factions community. Come to think of it, when I consider the "short list" of the community's most positive and helpful members, I recall that some of them are under 18.

Even if we had hard evidence that players under the age of 18 are significantly more toxic than older players, and we don't, I would find it highly problematic to create some fenced-off "kid server".

Gavran2 votes

I'm an adult now for all that entails but I used to be a teenager on the internet so... thank you. It's nice to see a respected community member stand up for the good ones. It makes me sad that threads like this have dozens of upvotes, but at least there's a respected voice being reasonable if not the popular one.

For what it's worth, I've seen way more toxicity from my own age bracket (20-25) in relation to League than I have from teens.

GetBoomedOn2 votes

{quoted}

I've met some under-18 people in Factions. Sure, they're perhaps on average a bit more excitable and volatile than others, but I definitely wouldn't want them banned from the server. I enjoy playing with them and having them as part of the Factions community. Come to think of it, when I consider the "short list" of the community's most positive and helpful members, I recall that some of them are under 18.

Even if we had hard evidence that players under the age of 18 are significantly more toxic than older players, and we don't, I would find it highly problematic to create some fenced-off "kid server".

Extremely respectable opinion. Thanks for the reply.

ValuedCustomer4 votes

Putting all the kids together can actually amplify the issue. They are even more likely then to not come into contact with the supposedly more mature 18+ crowd, and instead come into more contact with others with identical maturity issues. The manifestations of negative behaviour reinforce each other and spiral into a classic "Prisoner's Island" problem.

A Slime Appears18 votes

Obviously those 3 kids are a big enough sample size of the millions that play league to make those kinds of conclusions.

Celeste Benal13 votes

If I had kids, I would not allow them to play league because of the level of toxic behavior. Its very bad.

Hyrum Graff10 votes

Or you could let them play, but make them play with you only at the beginning -- so they have a good role model. Many of these kids act this way because, when they started playing, they have no idea what's acceptable. When they see others who model this type of toxic behavior, they assume it's OK and emulate it.

Gavran1 votes

Pretty sure Celeste isn't worried about the toxicity going out but the toxicity coming in.

Hyrum Graff1 votes

Oh, maybe. In the context of the OP, I read it as, "I don't want my kids being toxic," but it could very well have been, "I don't want my kids exposed to toxic behavior."

Gavran1 votes

A valid interpretation, I just figure a parent is more confident in training their child than in controlling those they interact with. I certainly wouldn't allow my children (had I any) to play this game without first muting everyone else. At least not before they were teenagers.

Kaipop11 votes

I recently turned 13 and I'm platinum ll. I don't think age matters too much. It does suck though that many around my age are pretty immature. I've been playing for 2 years after my cousin introduced me to LoL. I used to be toxic, but now I definitely think a lot of it depends on behavior so I try to stay positive and not get angry over losses.

Rofl just noticed the reddit poster's name is plattwoishell. Funny coincidence.

Champion Skin4 votes

Well yes there are obviously mature young people... and immature older people...

And I don't understand how they have the time to type so much while playing the game... maybe it is just me typing slow and all that?

OblongOtter2 votes

I'm super proud of you random internet person for being, not just Plat, which is an accomplishment in itself, but more importantly: a good person. You seem pretty cool and mature for your age as well, so keep doing what you're doing. There aren't many people around who are good enough people and wise enough to understand that being a good person is the right thing to do, they're selfish, so you make me real happy. Keep it up! ^_^

The Soulforged1 votes

{quoted}

I recently turned 13 and I'm platinum ll. I don't think age matters too much. It does suck though that many around my age are pretty immature. I've been playing for 2 years after my cousin introduced me to LoL. I used to be toxic, but now I definitely think a lot of it depends on behavior so I try to stay positive and not get angry over losses.

Rofl just noticed the reddit poster's name is plattwoishell. Funny coincidence.

That name D:

Kaipop1 votes

{quoted}

That name D:

Lol yeah I'm a fan of her I think she's hilarious. Also where did it say someones friends with Kaceytron?

The Soulforged1 votes

{quoted}

Lol yeah I'm a fan of her I think she's hilarious. Also where did it say someones friends with Kaceytron?

I'm sorry, but my respect of you has dwindled.

Chocmerc10 votes

I am not much fond of people who like to generalize and criticize the youth of today, what are you, 80? Children can be frustrating, but so can anyone else. I don't feel that simply lumping the good with the bad in any kind of demographic and punishing them as a whole will do anything but hurt the people who are in control of their tempers and / or mature and cause these so called immature.

Edit: (somehow this part got left out, putting it back in) How about instead of decrying today's youth, you decry the behavior that upsets you, regardless of age, gender, etc. (I am not specifically directing this at the OP, more towards the commenters)

Señor Karthus9 votes

I bet at least one of them played Yi.

AFK Push1 votes

{quoted}

I bet at least one of them played Yi.

or teemo.

Kairya5 votes

I can't understand why there is so little tolerance for kids here. They are allowed to be chilidsh, and they are allowed to make mistakes. It's a game people, let others have some fun. Children are an important part of our society, and yet everyone keeps dismissing them. Show some understanding, you were kids once too, and I am sure you did something stupid then, too. At the end of the day League of Legends is a game, unless you play it professionally and actually get paid for it, or are aiming to make this your job.

junglerboy161 votes

It is mostly because this game is rated T, and as such should not be played by 11 year olds. 11 year olds are certainly allowed to make mistakes, but when the game advertises itself for teens and up, you don't expect to get that level of immaturity. To be fair, there are of course exceptions, like the 30 year old who rages, or the eloquent teen player who is polite all match, but the point is that in general you can expect a higher degree of maturity from older players because they are by definition, more mature. It isn't that people don't like kids, it is that they come to this environment expecting one thing (a mature friendly atmosphere), and end up with an unpleasant surprise in some situations (and remember, this is completely NOT for the purpose of making a universal statement that kids are not fun to play with, I'm just trying to explain their reasoning).

Kairya1 votes

to expect a mature atmosphere in any online game, no matter the rating, is kind of naive. This is my personal experience of course. Furthermore the "T" -Rating is for 13 year olds and above. I wouldn't expect much maturity from a 13 year old... Which means that people don't really have a right to complain.

Please don't misunderstand me. I understand why so many are unhappy about kids acting like .. kids, but I also think that we as humans are able to overlook things. We get to decide what is important, and what is not. A lost game (for whatever reason) should not matter, but for some reason people have decided that this topic is very important for them. And it's my personal opinion, that it is not.

junglerboy161 votes

That is just your low standard for human behavior. I am a teen, yet I behave responsibly and maturely, where most people seem to think that is out of the ordinary. I agree though that a key part of acting maturely is the ability to also overlook other's immaturity as well.

Yormaughm4 votes

I'm not so sure the problem is that 11-14 year-olds act this way. They're not mature. They're literally acting like children, which is what they are.

The problem is the millions of adults that act exactly like these 11-14 year-olds, because they never learned anything from experiences like these when they had them at that age.

At that point, they're out of excuses and should be ashamed of themselves, and in a perfect world, banned from the internet until they finally did learn how to act like adults.

Drunk Rummate4 votes

not all kids are like this obviously, but i think it's pretty clear to most people over 18 where the majority of the toxicity comes from.

riot does a pretty good job of babysitting, all things considered.

WhereTheNamesAt3 votes

I just wanna know what is the basic computer skills are to fix the "firewall" problem...

Theads3 votes

You give LoL permission via your firewall so its not blocking incoming, outgoing traffic.

Gavran1 votes

That is how to solve a firewall problem, not how to solve the "firewall" problem. The latter is, I assure you, caused by Riot.

(As much as any compatibility issue is caused by developers, which is to say it may be someone else's fault but it is an issue that happens with their product and in their best interest to find a workaround.)

MiriaJiyuu1 votes

All online games have the firewall problem because they send and receive unsecured packets to help reduce lag, Firewalls detect these and will stop them for your safety, hence why you have to tell it to allow them through. Antiviruses are a problem for much the same reason.

There is no workaround that does not cause lag as the only workaround is to secure the packets, forcing your router to properly process and verify everything, causing significant lag.

Just be glad you don't have to open ports on your router to play.

This is not Riot's fault and has been an issue since playing online.

Gavran1 votes

No, the "firewall" problem is not that. It is likely not connected to firewalls at all, that's simply the error it gives. I already explained that it's not exactly Riot's fault but it is not a user issue.

Dorans Hat1 votes

To anyone reading this, go into your antivirus settings and add the "C:\Riot Games" path to the exclusions. Practically nobody knows about this but it solves patcher and in-game issues

Mahautsukai3 votes

It is generally provable that people in the lower teens and below don't have a strong grasp on emotional maturity and have often not mastered many of those tools. Likewise it has been shown those in the 16-26 range, particularly males, have a challenge mastering empathy which is why so much trollish and ego centric behavior is seen there. But it is further easily provable that those older than that can suffer from one or both of these issues and those younger can master them.

So my point, to all those who have overcome and risen above the common denominators of your age to be great players and teammates in the contexts of maturity, integrity and empathy. My thanks to you!

WooBeeWoo2 votes

I always try to play ranked when school is going but obviously I can't always and it blows. I am almost to the point where I'm going to quit as well. I just can't deal with babysitting inside a game anymore...

Bard in a Diaper2 votes

way to generalize lol. Every age group has its fair share of idiots, even 40 year olds have their fair share of immature idiots. Just as these particular kids are bad apples there of plenty of kids out there that don't type anything into chat and you wouldnt even know the difference.

Sáx Man2 votes

The age separation wouldn't really make a difference. I know a lot of people around my age (I'm 21, friends that play range from 18 to 29) that rage in the game. Some of them constantly blame teammates, some of them leave games or lose intentionally, and some blame op champs or items for every loss. Some of the people are rude all the time/ in every game, even to people that they know irl. Some of them have a bad day, and something sets them off.

What I'm saying is, anyone of any age or background or rank can be a negative influence to a game.

Griefer2 votes

It must be hell in bronze and silver.

Only took you like, 5 seasons to notice.

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