Teenagers and bitcoin

[eerygarden]

I initially wrote this post in response to the below quote from another thread, but I thought it was going a bit off topic for the thread, so decided to start a new thread.

The people can perfectly start using BTC on their own, we don't need to wait for institutions to jump in because they will most likely never do it. Anyway, in 10 years, a 10 year old will already know how to use BTC and recieve and send payments. By the time he is 18, do you think he is going to open a bank account? do you think he will like the fees, the waiting 3 days for an operation to get confirmed.. and all the rest of the shitty remarks of the traditional banking system? Nope. Thats how the traditional banking system will die.

What do ten year olds use currency for? The teenage years are an important range I think to become familiar with bitcoin. The world is something else at this age and they always need/want new stuff. When I left highschool napster had begun making waves, MSN messenger was used amongst my friends and mobile phones were part of the craze.

Any money which I used in my earlier teens came from pocket money, which would typically go towards a bus journey and a round of pitch and putt with my friends once a week, along with money each day to buy food/drinks at school. Money was not typically exchanged between friends, aside from any gambling game which we might play for small coins, but this was rare. Most of the time all we needed was a ball and we were right.

So what are kids going to use bitcoin for today? Buses wont likely accept bitcoins, sweet shops are possibly a bit more likely, but again not so likely and neither will most businesses in the short term. So what will make bitcoin cool to kids? Well the one answer that sticks in my mind is gambling. Social, skill based, gambling. I guess this depends upon the mentality of the child and questions of morality may arise, but yeah gambling on some sort of skill based decentralised gambling app on their smart phone I can imagine many a teenager thinking as being cool. I can foresee kids playing poker against each other in the middle of class getting their phones confiscated along with a detention. "Awwwww Sir!".

I don't think many kids playing casino games or sports betting sites will be seen as particularly cool amongst their peers but certainly if something decentralised was made available to them that allowed them to gamble amongst each other I could see that being popular. There would be bragging rights up for grabs.

Is there any thing else cooler that kids are going to want to use bitcoin for? Maybe buying a packet of crisps or a can of coke from their friend, but that's not particularly cool, just an opportunity for fledgling entrepreneurs.

[Possum577]

Mobile apps and games for their phone or using forums to buy and sell things like video games or other items kids buy - these are the primary purposes (i see) that teenagers would use to transact bitcoin.

This is just in today's terms thought.

Five years from now buses, gas stations, convenient stores, bars, etc, could more readily accept bitcoin - i mean, let's certainly hope so! Also debit cards, like those issued by Xapo, that appear to be transferrable/"transactable" in bitcoin despite the retailers currency choice would open up all options.

[AtheistAKASaneBrain]

It would be great to be a kid again and in 2025 where Bitcoin will be everywhere and you'll be able to buy anything you want. I would probably buy videogames and clothes to look good for the girls which is all you care about during that period of time.

[achow101]

Kids these days don't just buy physical things in stores. They do online shopping. With Bitcoin, once it becomes adopted, kids can shop online for stuff they want like video games, clothes, toys, and whatever else they want. It would be a good way to teach kids how to handle money since with Bitcoin, they could have a multisig address that requires a parent for approval and they will see their balance and will see the balance change as they buy stuff or earn money. This is better than using a credit card managed by a parent since the child will see all of his transactions and see exactly how much money he can spend. And after their teenage years, the kid will have a better knowledge of money handling and won't want to deal with the traditional banking system because of their wait times and fees.

[nextgencoin]

I don't know what's worse, listening to people in the Bitcoin section dream about some distant time where the masses can use Bitcoin in a simple and user friendly way OR me getting banned and my posts removed every time I try to inform them the future already exists.

https://mobile.twitter.com/getgemsorg?lang=en-gb



Yes you can send BTC like a text and yes you can buy computer games with them inside the app.

[Meuh6879]

So what are kids going to use bitcoin for today?

  they broke an iphone at 450 USD ... i don't sell bitcoin to this "part of people" ... 

[S4VV4S]

So what are kids going to use bitcoin for today?

  they broke an iphone at 450 USD ... i don't sell bitcoin to this "part of people" ... 

Don't be harsh, Bitcoin is for everyone.
Also, if they can afford to waste money on iPhone, they can afford to invest in Bitcoin

Can I ask why you have an English description link to a French tutorial in your sig?

[anderson00673]

Reading the quote, I dont think the author meant literally that a bunch of 10 yr olds will be running the economy, I think it was just an example.  Sort of like how older generations are in general less computer literate than newer generations.

[eerygarden]

Reading the quote, I dont think the author meant literally that a bunch of 10 yr olds will be running the economy, I think it was just an example.  Sort of like how older generations are in general less computer literate than newer generations.

I never thought that either. My point was that anything technological that is cool and that is going to take off needs to be embraced by teenagers and I thought a discussion geared to how that might occur for bitcoin would be good.

Is get gems any use to people who dont know others who are using it? I installed it and I can do Jack with it.

[Meuh6879]

Can I ask why you have an English description link to a French tutorial in your sig?

I'm from an other planet ... (hitchhiker's guide)

[wadili89]

It would be great to be a kid again and in 2025 where Bitcoin will be everywhere and you'll be able to buy anything you want. I would probably buy videogames and clothes to look good for the girls which is all you care about during that period of time.

which is not possible, possible is you can still do all these things why not ?  does not matter if you are 40 at 2025 you still need clothes and can impress girls ( probably not teen age girls for sure ) what i will miss is technology as i remember 8 years ago i used to send MMS to my girlfriend which limit was 128 KB is size max i never thought that time we will be able to video chat for hours for free one day So i will miss that tachnology which will come after 50 years

[Kprawn]

More sites would follow this kind of model --> http://bitplay.today/ where kids will play games tournaments against each other for Bitcoin. You would pay a entrance fee, and the pot would go to the winner.

Some kids will also buy "virtual" items within forums and games, to make their digital fantasy come real. Let's take a Sim game for example.. Kids would buy add-on's for their furniture or special T-shirts with their

name... just something personal to make them stand out from the crowd.

My kids bought games online, with the Bitcoins they earned online... A bit of extra pocket money. 

[n2004al]

To know the bitcoin is a big word. There are to many interpretation of the word "know". It is normal that a 10-years kid know bitcoin as a currency, as a way to pay for goods used in addition to other everyday money. This currency is special and the kids need to know it even they maybe will not use it til they will grow up other some years. There is nothing bad in this. Maybe they will be able in that age even to use it. And here is the point. The kid must be controlled in this like in entire his life. If controlled nothing bad can happen. 

[jacee]

actually there is a possibility for this to happen if cryptocurrency knowledge is known by more and more.

[Amph]

adopting bitcoin in games as an in game currency would be ideal for teenagers

teenagers are inclined to embrace future technology, they use smarthphone all they day so bitcoin goes well with their use

i'm sure that if you can meet bitcoin with something like "selfie"(somewebsite that pay you few bits for the ebst selfie, for example) it would see even a great usage from teenagers

[eerygarden]

More sites would follow this kind of model --> http://bitplay.today/ where kids will play games tournaments against each other for Bitcoin. You would pay a entrance fee, and the pot would go to the winner.

Yes but it seems centralised. They can be punished.

[Somekindabitcoin]

I don't know why are people still saying that Bitcoin is too complicated. It took me about 2 days of using it to learn everything and start using Bitcoin on 100%. You just need to want.

[timtowner]

As teens use Bitcoin more in the future to buy games, services, etc (since they dont need a credit card or a bank), when it comes time for them to open up a checking account, they will laugh at that idea.

"I have to pay you a monthly service fee to store my money?  "I have to wait how many days to transfer money?"  "An overdraft fee is $35???"  "No thanks.  I'll just keep using Bitcoin."

Remember when the idea of not owning a CD or album was ridiculous?  Paying for a download was a crazy idea.  Now, we are paying for streaming services where we RENT music and never OWN it.

Watch what teenagers flock to and invest in it.  Bitcoin will probably catch on with them soon.

[I E]

Interesting topic.

[Ingatqhvq]

I don't know why are people still saying that Bitcoin is too complicated. It took me about 2 days of using it to learn everything and start using Bitcoin on 100%. You just need to want.

It's true bitcoin is complicate. Not all of people want to spend 2 days to learn a new and unnecessary thins.