Step in their shoes. Immerse. That’s what I did in the recent weeks to learn more about this game our son loves to play. One day, finding nothing to do before I hit the bed coming from night shift, I logged in on Xbox live while our son was still in dreamland. I played Fornite Battle Royale, solo mode.
The first time was awkward. I was playing against 100 other players somewhere around the globe and I felt like I was the oldest noob. But I had my beginner’s luck. There was a do or die moment when I met a player eye to eye while he was hunkered down a staircase. He appeared as scared as I was only that he was weaponless. I eliminated him and it made me happy but guilty. I can’t be a real soldier I guess.
Then there was another day I saw my son’s frequent playmate online and he invited “him” to join their party. Their voices reveal they’re kids. Again, I was in the midst of young but better players. It was a good thing our Xbox doesn’t have mic so they mustn’t have known my identity. My moves likely made them smell something’s fishy though. “Is that Marcus?” a voice asked. I was slow and clumsy with the stairs build and that almost blew my cover. Embarrassing.
That’s what makes going online scary. There’s that risk of interacting with the wrong people and finding something that could be offending especially for the young kids. Latest case in point is the Roblox mess. The challenge to monitor online activities of our kids nowadays is getting tougher.
But there are fascinating stories and coincidences too. Like today, curious who our son is playing with, my wife researched and, by the power of the internet, found them.
What’s more interesting is that she was not only able to see the faces behind the names but she also discovered something more. The kid who became our son’s first online friend also has the same condition. Both of them has muscular dystrophy. Wifey and the kid’s mother are also part of an online support group for parents with children who has DMD. Who knew there’s more to finding golden chests and llamas on Fortnite?
Marcus is still asleep and we can’t wait to tell him the news.
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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (My pull-up hands need to rest. It’s all cracked up.)
Marcus Can Blog 