If you have any contact with a child whose age range falls in the seven to thirteen-year-old bracket, you’re probably going to hear about video games at some point. Even for children who don’t game themselves, they’re both aware of what games are popular and the basics of how to play them. It’s not always that their friends are giving them the information about these games, either. Many kids learn about the details, strategies and nuances of each particular game through social media. There’s an entire culture that broadcasts their games along with witty commentary. Many of these gamers make enough from advertising revenue that recording and releasing these broadcasts is their full-time job. Let’s meet a few of them.
Game Grumps
Started in 2012, Game Grumps is part game broadcast and part improvisational comedy. The hosts, Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan, frequently welcome guests to play the games with them on their show. Their commentary is often about game play, but does include anecdotes about their personal lives, too. Hanson also works as an animator and voice actor. Avidan’s other vocations include musician, actor and singer-songwriter. Game Grumps has over five million subscribers.
DanTDM
Dan, The Diamond Minecart, is a Minecraft expert. British-born Daniel Middleton also works as a musician, actor and author in addition to his gamer videos. Topping the list of highest-earning YouTube personalities, Middleton has won both Kids’ Choice Awards and set Guinness Book of World’s Records for his work. He has over 25 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. He’s very popular with the parents of his viewership because of the lack of profanity or inappropriate content in his videos. Middleton has an approachable, fun personality that clearly resonates with his viewers. He also posts videos on various Pokémon and Roblox games.
PopularMMOs
Another hugely popular series that features both Minecraft and Roblox comes from PopularMMOs creator Pat Julianelle. Most of his videos feature another YouTuber, GamingWithJen’s Jennifer Lynn Flagg. Pat and Jen, as they are better known, were once married and the proud “parents” of a cat named Cloud. The now-divorced couple still games together, creating commentary and videos for the 16 million subscribers who watch them on YouTube. Jen used to upload videos on her own channel about Roblox; she hasn’t done that for some time. Pat’s other gaming interests include Roblox and Fortnite.
One hugely popular segment of the Minecraft videos is about challenges. Sometimes the challenges are created by viewers. They’ve ranged from “what and how fast can you craft” tasks to “can you escape/kill the bad guys” type challenges.
SSSniperwolf
English-American Alia Shelesh is a gamer, vlogger, YouTuber and TikTok personality. She based her name on the character Sniper Wolf of the game Metal Gear Solid. She has over 28 million subscribers. One of Lia’s claims to fame is her appearance in a Dhar Mann video where she plays herself. She inspires and encourages a young girl to pursue her dreams of becoming a gamer despite the girl’s sexist mother’s discouragement.
While it may not be crucial for you to know any of this, you can now participate in a conversation with a 7 to 13-year-old without sounding like a noob.