Parents' Guide to Highrise - Virtual World

This app's childlike take on Sims-like gameplay has the potential to create an unsafe online environment for your teen and is doing so in spades. To start, there are plenty of possibilities for kids to feel left out and bullied. The app rewards you for being "liked" and being part of a Crew. The former's more likely to happen the more attention-getting your avatar is (i.e., the more gear you buy), and joining a Crew means asking for invites. Rooms can be made invite-only, which can be a good safety mechanism, but can also be used to exclude people out of spite. Of course, these grade school politics are the least of your worries. Far more concerning is the prevalence of sexually explicit talk. Users create nightclub rooms and "dirty" rooms where people discuss things that would make a truck driver blush. Even outside these designated places, profanity (words like "f—k," "pu—y," and "s—t") is rampant. News feeds also contain lots of commentary about drugs, drinking, and other users' physical attractiveness. The result is a near-constant barrage of judgment, negativity, and sexual expectation. On a purely technical note, the app's inconsistent, obscure interface makes it hard to figure out how to do things like build and customize rooms, but this is really beside the point. In a controlled environment, Highrise – Virtual World might be a fun, inclusive place for kids and teens to socialize; as it is, it's a sure bet for raising their anxiety and lowering their self-esteem.