Double it and pass it to the next person

wake up, wander outside, take a long drink from the hose, and hey there’s a couple more months of free Internet some rando threw on the lawn

Yeah I’d imagine you’d have trouble finding a good deal there. I’ve had way more luck getting drives from eBay, thrift shops, yard sales and the local dump.

Also by convincing everyone I know to just give me their old stuff that they think is no longer useful. They don’t want it taking up space anyway, and I get to harvest the useful bits and add them to my frankensteined home lab, then responsibly dispose of the rest. There have also been several machines I’ve acquired this way that I’ve repaired/made whole again, then provided to those who need them.

Buy used ETA: and prevent waste

I meant from individuals, not corporations with a profitable refurbishing outfit. e.g.: eBay, thrift shops, the swap shop at your local dump (if you’re lucky to have one), yard sales, etc.

One of my favorite things in life is rescuing hardware from the landfill, or bringing a relative’s dusty old machine back to life. There are still loads of people out there who have never opened a PC case before, and think the whole machine is a loss just because it won’t boot, or is “old”.

Depends on who you are. It would take me a minute or less to unwind a coat hanger and/or a paperclip, scrap wire etc and rig it up.

I didn’t mean to imply that this kind of conflict between tech, parents and peer pressure would come up for every kid. It sounds like you’ve cultivated a healthy distance from tech for yours, and that this is something you hopefully shouldn’t even have to worry about.

I was into gaming with my friend group, but back then it was split-screen and LAN parties. I still got plenty of outside time and physical activity. Our games didn’t focus solely on dark patterns and addictive elements - much less the possibility of encountering random adult weirdos. The fact that the environment has worsened doesn’t mean gaming is going away or that kids will lose interest.

There is a subset of kids whose parents do have to navigate this minefield, and Roblox is just one example. That’s not to let the parents off the hook entirely, but it’s entirely plausible to me that the corporations behind their kids’ favorite games may have been misleading about safety and even complicit in enabling this kind of abuse.

I crafted wifi and tv antennae out of scraps of metal when my parents confiscated mine, but I don’t think that applies here. (And yes, this was a brief golden era when terrestrial analog tv signals and wifi coexisted)

You’re setting up a false dichotomy, don’t you think?

• Never let your kids play age-appropriate online games, which Roblox ostensibly falls under – risk forming lifelong resentment as kids forfeit social capital upon exclusion from peers

• Let the kids play, but insert yourself into every facet of that experience and every online interaction for the entire time – first of all, who has time for that? This course also risks heavy resentment and embarrassment

Am I missing another option? As far as we know, the parents took the middle path by vetting the game and thought they were being reasonable about exposure, but the kids were still harmed.

He’s riding a tiny orange shroom