Fortnite--Do Your Kids (or you) Play? Safety?

[umsami]

Apparently in the UK they put out a warning about pedophiles/predators being on Fortnite.  Fortnite (for those who are unaware) is a very popular game right now which involves online gaming.  Each game/session/??? involves 100 people.

 

http://kdvr.com/2018/04/08/investigators-warn-parents-about-sexual-predators-on-video-game-chatrooms/

 

Was wondering if others saw the warning, and what (if anything) they are doing about it?

 

My 12 year old is a big fan, and he always plays with his two friends (whom I know IRL).

[Lecka]

My 13-year-old son plays this game sometimes.

He isn’t allowed to chat with anyone other than kids from school, period.  He plays in the same room where my husband hangs out and he doesn’t break the rule about not chatting with strangers.

Also I would say he only plays it with friends and probably his friends are the ones more interested in it than he is.

If it is set up to hear other people talking then he goes into settings and mutes them.  (In general.)

My husband got an X box live account years ago and was shocked to be playing with children sometimes, he has never let our kids have that access.

Also my husband has concerns about rude language and people saying horrible things, so he does not allow it for our kids, and he doesn’t do it himself.

There is one game my husband plays with strangers where he does type messages into a chat box with strangers, but our kids don’t play that game at this point and have no interest in it.  

But in general we have concerns about crass, racist, sexist, hateful language on any video game chat option and it isn’t something we take part in.  

[Kim in Appalachia]

My ds16 is playing right now.  He only plays with people he knows IRL.  We've not had any problems. He has no interest in playing with people he doesn't actually know. He doesn't see the point. My ds 13 and ds18 also play.  The 13 year old currently thinks all other people are stupid, so won't play with anyone. But we have talked about online stuff, and he knows the rules. He also knows we check and keep an ear out. 

[teachermom2834]

My 15 yo and 20 yo sons play. I don’t worry about them running into online predators. I realize the 15 yo is theoretically young enough for that but he plays in a common area and I just think he is beyond the age where it is an issue. 

The thing with Fortnite is that it seems highly addictive, more so than typical games. My 20 yo who is not that into gaming has told me he has never played a game this intense with this much draw and the ability to completely lose track of time playing. His college roommate sold his PlayStation because he was playing too much Fortnite. My ds actually has lost track of time playing and that is really unlike him. He also mentioned that it is very intense , frustrating, fun in a way he hasn’t found other games to be. This ds is very mild mannered yet gets pretty worked up playing. He has mentioned a kid at school who is very low key punched a wall he got so mad playing it.

So in my mind I would be extra careful with Fortnite for any kids that tend toward addiction or getting overly involved in trheir games. I haven’t played, just reporting what my level headed very moderate gamers report. 

[madteaparty]

DS plays with his dad and his friend who lives in another town. I let him play while travelling, downloading a vpn so he could play in China even. Great way to stay connected