Why is cyber bullying a part of HSY pack?
Why is it that, even with all of the education about the toxicity and dangers of cyberbullying, TheSims4 added it to the newest pack (HSY)? This 'feature' (on the social bunny app) has teens getting...
Forum Discussion
Basically, lets make already so over positive utopic game even more utopic.
I get what you are saying. But does this mean that mean interactions should be taken out entirely? Sorry, but I'm not interested in game where everyone are besties with each other.
If anything, Team should maybe add toggle, warning and maybe ease up on some texts. But it shouldn't be taken out completely.
Note; What is in game isn't cyber bullying. That looks differently.
@PatrickClSim3LowIt's not about that, it's about control over my world in my opinion. I take your point that the mean interactions certainly have their place in the game. One issue is autonomy is so faulty in my game (on console) that the mean interactions are out of control. They have completely taken over. I can't stop them or the mischief interactions. All social events are over taken by them, which I have reported as a bug many times. I literally have to battle them when my Sims meet up.
Nobody said they wanted some Utopia, or some over correction.
But can you imagine someone who is suffering from cyber bullying IRL then having it impact their game too when they were trying to escape into it for a break. Case in point one of my loved ones who isn't on this forum to voice her opinion and was excited about the high school pack. Cyber bullying in her case led to 2 separate violent attacks by male classmates at 2 different places of education and a broken nose. It can leave people feeling incredibly vulnerable, especially at school age. I studied it extensively after what happened to me, even going back to my old school several years ago to interview 40 teens between 12-14. What I found from my interviews was extremely disturbing. 2 of the 40 kids were dangerously vulnerable because of this issue.
For too long tech companies and the authorities have responded with an eyeroll and a "kids will be kids" response. I was cyber bullied on social media by the same ex classmate who attacked me. I got no support from the tech company and no longer use social media. We play the Sims to relax and if a player is so bothered by this that they have raised it immediately then it's a problem.
@EA_Cadethanks for your response. It's very welcome.- @simsplayer818 Not taking anything away from your experience, though this sounds suspiciously like the "violent video games cause real-world violence" argument that gets debunked every 5 years.
@Backstabbath88I respect your opinion, my point is that we can't ever normalise this issue. It makes lives absolutely miserable and can take a life as well. We have real life cases in the UK on a regular basis with kids who are tragically young and I've seen it in my own circle more times than I can count. I've a little neighbour, 11 years old right now absolutely in bits over it before he's even started big school. I've just been in a fruitless battle with 2 tech companies for a loved one pushed to his limits by a gamer who uses her platform to abuse her ex...live to the world.
In Get Famous it was already problematic but I was putting up with it and buying fame perks to mitigate it. My good Sims, even my cops, my feds, my doctors, family members all send abuse to my famous Sims telling them they are garbage, etc. It just wouldn't happen to that extent (not from their dad!) and to a young player seeing that it makes it look normal.
I don't want to see another tech company make this look normal or acceptable. If it's not a trigger for you then genuinely, that's great I'm happy to hear it. I've seen so much of it I was starting to think it's just never ending.
A game is for entertainment. Sufferers of abuse that I know actually play the Sims because of the kind of game it is. Myself included. I chose The Sims 1 in part for this reason. As for violent games I don't play them, but my late mother... I know for a fact she would have been on COD and absolutely nailing it because that's what she loved well into her 60s. A helicopter and artillery, that was her scene in her gaming room and I rolled my eyes and said "I don't know how you play that!"
Aside from my experiences, with all the positive work that the game is trying to do for the LGBT+ community, this feels tone deaf. It's an issue that can disproportionately affect their community directly or indirectly.
But this is my closing argument on the subject before I exit this thread because in the main I find this forum to be a positive experience and I've just seen a fellow player I like very much announce a break from posting after a debate that became too heated for them. When I trained as a Personnel Officer I was taught about something called a "crumple button". That button that someone presses that just makes someone crumple. Any form of bullying is one of those issues.
So my suggestion to keep everyone happy is to suggest a filter option/privacy setting on a Sims tech to filter out hateful messages for students and for GF celebrities. That way everyone gets what they want.
Thanks for bearing with me and hearing my argument.
I'm afraid that I'm a sweetness and light Utopic player and... yeah, if you can cheat on your spouse, divorce, throw drink, have a fist fight, insult face, imply mother is a llama, etc., I don't see how sending a mean message on Social Bunny is worse than that. If it's because they're teens, well, teans can fight each other, insult face, imply mother is a llama, etc.
In fact, mean Sims can "crush dreams" of a child or teen Sim, and that's worse to me because it's an adult being mean to a child or teen.
I agree that bullying is bad! but I don't think sending a mean private message on Social Bunny is that much worse than mechanics already in the base game. If there was a mechanism to get EVERYONE to post mean public messages about a Sim, that would be different. Also the mean messages I've seen in gameplay are, say, "Your face is so punchable" and not, say, urging someone to commit suicide. Not to defend people sending private messages of "your face is punchable!" that's awful, but it's not the same thing as the stuff where people post horrible public things about someone and everyone retweets/reshares it. In fact, I've noticed there's no retweet/share and that might be why.
Edit: @simsplayer818 was posting at the same time I was and I think she's convinced me to change my mind...
