rpanons | chortles fatly

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Would you say that text-based online RP is largely a Millennial hobby?

I distinctly recall doing forum-based RP back in grade school, and I know some older RPers will remember MUDs from the early days of the internet, but what about the older and younger generations? Both those who grew up before the internet became so entrenched in our society and those who were born into the smartphone age? How many of them participate in text-based RP, do you think?

i have an eleven year old relative who does text based rp on amino, apparently there are a lot of them there

increased tech means more opportunities to do voice or video&voice

but there's younger players who prefer text because they stammer, or have audio processing difficulties, or like having an archive, or just don't have a good enough system to do voice rp

(i am speaking from tabletop experience)

I'd say it really varies a lot. I definitely know more than a few players in their 30s and older. I'm 40 myself and definitely from the generation before computers and the internet were so entrenched in our lives. I started RPing in high school when I was about 16-17. Back then having a computer in your home was still rare, but most who did had some sort of dial up internet connection. I think a lot of people back then were into text based RP because it was quite easy to find various groups to RP with, but a lot also have drifted away from it to other hobbies or their lives have grown busy from things like marriage, careers and children.

https://rpresearch.dreamwidth.org/

the most common age range around here is/was 25-30 (53% in 2017 and 55% in 2016)

granted, it'd be interesting to see if that's changed any after tumblr's implosion or if any other factors have changed since.

this is anecdotal but with the rise of platforms like tumblr, twitter, instagram that are clearly designed with more focus on visual images over text i feel like this has also fundamentally changed the nature of (popular) rp. when tumblr rp was in high swing you'd see journals replying with gifs and few text, twitter has its inherent text character limitations built in, and even something like reddit isn't terribly conductive to paragraphs-long prose style rping.

it's a shame, you can do anything in words but deferring to pre-existing images to use as a short-hand for what you want to express feels like it's sabotaging creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. why think about it when there's a gif that encapsulates more or less what you wanted to express, or hell, who cares if it's even relevant to the character at all IT'S FUNNY/POPULAR/THE COOL MEME RIGHT NOW.

(not saying gifs aren't fun and funny but if that's what'll dominate rping trends as a result of available/popular platforms it makes actual text-based rping a much more niche, much more dying hobby even among millennials)

I'd say it's largely millennial, but not entirely. it really depends on what and where you're rping. for example, from my experience the demographic for regency forum rp (at least back about 7-8 years ago) tends to lean heavily toward women in their 40s.

>regency forum rp

Ellie 20 Aug 11:14 PM
💕😘
Kristie 20 Aug 9:07 PM
In honour of Clem's birthday we should all write Clem Fics.
Liz 20 Aug 2:46 PM
Julianne is 19 and smug.
Emily 20 Aug 2:38 PM
Geriatric Pregnancy
Ellie 20 Aug 2:33 PM
baaarely
Liz 20 Aug 2:32 PM
I will point out that 35 is technically Advanced Maternal Age.
Ellie 20 Aug 2:21 PM
well, clem is NEARLY eighteen. she is eighteen on thursday in game!
Ellie 20 Aug 2:21 PM
(sixteen going on seventeen)
Ellie 20 Aug 2:21 PM
her mother was a Child Bride
Ellie 20 Aug 2:20 PM
eighteen
Liz 20 Aug 2:11 PM
How old is Clem?!
Ellie 20 Aug 1:57 PM
"advanced maternal age" she is THIRTY FOUR
Sarah 20 Aug 1:52 PM
[sets radio up to start playing "Kiss the Girl" really really loudly]
Emily 20 Aug 1:46 PM
SUNSHINE KIDS BETTER SNOG I AM DYING HERE
Alex 20 Aug 12:55 PM
Kissing in public goes one of two ways for our couples...
Ellie 20 Aug 12:53 PM
RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!!!

this is precious

the younger kids are playing on discord, amino, and even places like wattpad. phone apps are more attractive to kids these days because they're more likely to have phones and regard them as comfy/familiar/private than a computer.

not a kid but i do wish dreamwidth had a good phone app

chortles fatly

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