Family-Friendly: Why Parents Bring Kids to YGG Events

In one of the YGG Pilipinas Roadtrip events that we attended, we interviewed two families who represent the stark contrast between this crypto event and the rest.

What’s the Significance? A whole family attending a web3 event shows that the #CryptoPH Community is generational, highlighting that the industry is not only limited to a certain age bracket. (Read more: [Event Recap] YGG Roadtrip in Baguio City)

Families at YGG Roadtrip-Baguio

Fabro Family

A mother and her sons, Rachel Ventura and Brix and Brylle Fabro of La Union, accompanied by Brix’s friend Shane from Baguio.

• Ventura and her family attended the event by invitation. 

Virtudazo Family

Joe Dennis and Criscent Virtudazo of the Sando gang (the guild of creator and entrepreneur Kookoo Crypto), along with their baby; they are from Valenzuela City.

• They had attended the first leg in Batangas City on April 13. 
• She added that they were initially unsure about going to Baguio because it is farther, but YGG provided them with the opportunity and a free ride, so they decided to take it.

Their Experience

Rachel’s teenage kids expressed their enjoyment in trying out and discovering new games. She also mentioned that her son, Fabro, had previously played Axie Infinity:

“Iba po kasi yung excitement pati yung enjoyment na ibinibigay; nakaka-meet ka pa ng iba’t ibang klaseng tao sa community na kina-be-belong-an mo.”

(“The excitement and enjoyment it provides are different; you also get to meet various kinds of people in the community you belong to.”)

Meanwhile, Criscent expressed how happy she was to meet the people from her guild in real life. She also highlighted that before attending the YGG roadtrip events, her husband was not really interested in participating. 

• However, after the Batangas leg, her husband Joe Dennis became enthusiastic about joining and was even more excited for Baguio, and started playing web3 games, such as Sypher and Rumble Racing, after participating in these gatherings: 

“Enjoy naman kasi mas nalalaman ko kung ano yung NFT games, tsaka nakakakilala ako ng ibang tao.”

(“I enjoy it because I learn more about NFT games and get to meet different people.”)

Despite the Bad Actors…

During the interview, Rachel revealed that seven years ago, around 2017, while she was working as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), she became a victim of an investment scam. 

• The scammers claimed they would invest the money in cryptocurrency on behalf of investors who didn’t know how to do it themselves. She recounted how the perpetrators vanished with their money:

“Parang niloko ako nung nagrecruit sa amin kasi nagbayad kami pero wala kaming (nakuhang) Bitcoin; tinakbuhan kami.”

(“It seems like the person who recruited us deceived me because we paid, but we didn’t receive any Bitcoin; they ran off with our money.”)

• Despite falling victim to a scam, Rachel stated that she used to be skeptical about investments due to prevalent scams, but now she trusts the current opportunity because it was introduced by a known and trusted person:

“Noon, parang di pa ako [naniniwala] marami kasing scam, tatakbuhan ka. Pero depende kasi ‘yan sa member (investment recruiter), may mga member na inaabuso yung mga ne-re-recruit nila, binubulsa (‘yung pera)… kaya takot. Pero syempre, ‘yung nag-invite sa amin ngayon, kilala, kaya may tiwala.”

(“Before, I didn’t really believe in it because there were so many scams and people would run off with your money. It really depends on the investment recruiter; some take advantage of those they recruit and pocket the money, which causes fear. But of course, the person who invited us this time is someone we know, so we trust them.”)

Left Web2 for Web3

Meanwhile, Criscent Virtudazo mentioned that she entered the space around the time Axie Infinity’s popularity was starting to rise. 

• According to her, the game provided an opportunity to gain an additional source of income, especially after she became a scholar under the crypto influencer Kookoo CryptoTV.
• As she became more active in the community, Kookoo recognized her efforts, and she became a pillar of the guild, supervising other players. Currently, she is one of the core members of the Sando Gang and a moderator of their Discord server, a YGG sub-guild of Kookoo CryptoTV:

“Dati employed ako nung nakilala ko si Axie (Infinity), pero iba kapag pala napunta ka sa isang community na na-a-appreciate yung value mo; ‘di ko kasi ‘yun nakita nung employed ako.”

(“I used to be employed when I discovered Axie Infinity, but it’s different when you join a community that appreciates your value; I didn’t experience that when I was employed.”)

• She also added that their community is not just a gaming build but they also built connections and friendships:

“Inaalagaan kami ni Kap (Kookoo), through his words, ‘yung vi-na-value n’ya kami, di dahil may silbi kami sa kanya kasi naging friends (kami). Doon ako mas nag-stay, nag-vo-volunteer ako, kahit walang kapalit.”

(“Kap Kookoo takes care of us. Through his words, he shows that he values us, not because we are useful to him, but because we became friends. That’s why I stayed longer and volunteered, even without expecting anything in return.”)

Her husband, Joe, also expressed support for her choice of career and passion, “kung saan s’ya nag-ennjoy, support lang.” (Wherever she enjoys, I’ll just support her.): 

“As long as may web3, as long as may naniniwala sa web3, mag-i-stay po.”

(“As long as there is web3, as long as there are people that believe in web3, we will stay believing.”)

Significance of Web3 Education for the Youth

According to Rachel, it’s vital for children’s development and growth, particularly in their thinking skills, to allow them to play these games and discover and learn about new technologies. She also expressed fully supporting her child playing web3 games:

“Na-e-enhance po yung knowledge, mas napapabilis po yung pag-iisip para sa mga bagong tactics.”

(It enhances ouur knowledge, training our mind for new game tactics.”)

As for Criscent, engaging with games and their crypto assets helps her enhance her trading skills and teaches her to be responsible with money even at a young age:

“Invite ko po ‘yung mga kabataan na i-follow yung mga bini-build na games kasi maganda rin na may alam, pati na rin sa mga oldies na.”

(“I encourage my fellow youth to watch out for the games they are promoting and building here because it is good to have knowledge, even for the oldies.”)

Accordingly, the Virtudazo couple emphasized that it is vital that web3 is learned by the young generation because it teaches them the value of earning their own money. 

• The wife highlighted the difference in feeling when the money is earned through personal effort, contrasting past perceptions of gaming as unproductive with the current reality of earning through it.

“Sana mas maging mulat lang din yung mga family ng younger generation kasi yung iba hindi talaga ganoon, for me lang, kasi ang dami pa ring tutol. Iba kasi yung saya na dulot nun sa younger generation sa paglalaro tapos may reward na nakukuha sila at the end of the day.”

(“I hope that the families of the younger generation will be aware about the benefits of crypto gaming. Because others do not support their child playing web3 games. The joy of earning reward while playing brought to ‌younger generations is different.”)

What is YGG Pilipinas Roadtrip?

The YGG Roadtrip was a nationwide initiative by YGG, aiming to connect Filipino gamers with web3 technology. This year, it traveled to six locations over four months, introducing attendees to web3 opportunities and offering educational sessions, game demos, and competitive matches. 

What’s Next: YGG is set to host the YGG Play Summit in November, a week-long conference for web3 games. 

This article is published on BitPinas: Family-Friendly: Parents Bring Kids to YGG Roadtrip in Baguio

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