When Kate’s 13-year-old son* started playing Minecraft and Fortnite, she didn’t worry.
The video games were hardly Grand Theft Auto—banned in their home because it was too violent—and he played in a room where she could keep an eye on him.
But about six weeks later, Kate saw something appalling pop up on the screen: a video of a sexual act involving a young boy. Horrified, she scrolled through her son’s account on Discord, a platform where gamers can chat while playing. The conversations were filled with graphic language and imagery of sexual acts posted by others, she says.
Kate started asking her son about some of the user names of his fellow gamers. “And he’s saying, ‘That’s so-and-so who goes to this school.’ And they all think it’s a friend of somebody,” she says, “but then they realize it’s not a friend of anybody.”
When Kate’s 13-year-old son* started playing Minecraft and Fortnite, she didn’t worry.
The video games were hardly Grand Theft Auto, which wasn’t allowed in their home because it was too violent. He also played in a room where she could keep an eye on him.
But about six weeks later, Kate was shocked by a video that popped up on the screen. It showed a sexual act involving a young boy. It was horrifying for her. She decided to look through her son’s account on Discord, a platform where gamers can chat while playing. The conversations were filled with graphic language and imagery of sexual acts posted by others, she says.
Kate started asking her son about some of the user names of his fellow gamers. “And he’s saying, ‘That’s so-and-so who goes to this school.’ And they all think it’s a friend of somebody,” she says, “but then they realize it’s not a friend of anybody.”