Does every 11/12 year old REALLY have a Xbox ?

[dingdongmerrilytyiu]

DS11 in year 7 had a teacher-student well-being zoom check today. Parents were instructed to be with child.

Teacher asks my son whether he is keeping in touch with his classmates "on the Xbox". He replied he doesn't have one. "Oh via PlayStation then" says the teacher. My son replied he doesn't have one. "Oh whatever the other one is called then"...at which point I said we don't have any of them.

She appeared genuinely surprised: "oh, wow, well that's great. You're the only one who has said that, everyone else seems to be on them when they're not doing schoolwork...how do you keep in contact then?" And my son says "phone calls, texts..."

I did discuss it after with my son and ask him if he was bothered and if he wanted one. He said no, he was fine with his games on his phone.

I've been holding out until he started asking me for a gaming device because it's just one more screen for them to get addicted to and for me to fall out with him about overuse. I have friends who've really struggled with this. It's not that I object to them; when my son wants one I will get him one, but is it really true what the teacher said that everyone else in the class has one? I feel really guilty if so.

It's a grammar school (state school) in a mixed area; some wealth, mainly middle class I guess but defo some kids there who are on pupil premium like my son.....am I restricting his friendships by holding out on this?

[quote dingdongmerrilytyiu]@Starlightstarbright1 "multiplatform" .....does that mean that a PS4 child can play the same game that his Xbox friends are playing at the same time and in the same "world"? [/quote]
Multiplatform means than a game has been released on more than one console. It does not mean that an Xbox owner can play that game with a PlayStation owner.

Crossplay, also called Crossplatform, means that owners of one console can play with owners of a different console.

For example FIFA is multiplatform. You can buy FIFA on Switch,. Xbox or PlayStation. But it is not crossplay. If you buy FIFA on PlayStation, you can only play it against other people who play it on PlayStation.

However, Fortnite is cross-platform. Someone with the game on Switch can play it against people on Xbox, PlayStation and PC.

Not every cross-platform game is fully cross-platform. Sometimes there's crossplay between just two consoles.

Here's a helpful list

www.google.com/amp/s/www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/all-cross-platform-games/%3famp

Exclusive games are released on just one company's consoles. Examples are Gran Turismo on PlayStation and Mario games on Switch. Needless to say, there's no crossplay there as no other company's consoles have those games.

We don’t have any of those consoles. Her friends laughed at her as she didn’t know what as PS4 or Xbox was my dd enjoys playing games on her laptop which is a refurbished one. We have no intention of buying one if at all.
Dds are one school year apart and are like best friends when they play together, so have each other too. Both have Amazon fire tablets too, so they’re not short of technology.

Neither of mine have those or want them. One is ASD but other is quite social and keeps in touch on the phone.

We don't have an Xbox but a PlayStation. It has been a godsend during the lockdowns for entertainment and socialising.

My 14 year old has never had a console. He was a PC gamer, now mostly just reads web serials on his tablet or phone. People tell me to 'just take away the Xbox' if he doesn't do schoolwork, there is no Xbox, nothing to take away.

Mine don't but I have DDs, it seems most of the boys do. They aren't interested and have never mentioned getting one. They play the occasional game on a tablet or pc and are happy with that.

DS has had a games console for ages.

And it has been a life saver during lockdown. I love hearing him laugh and interact with his friends online.

My son is coming up to 13 and has had a PS for 4 years.

Where we live winters are long, dark and miserable. We live off grid so quite rural and remote. So popping to see friends doesn't happen. He has to travel 3 miles to see friends and with lockdown its been a godsend.

All 3 of my kids use it.

My y8 got an Xbox two years ago

My son is in Y8 at a state grammar just mention that as is same kind of school as your DS) and yes he has an Xbox and did last year too. Before that he had an ancient Wii which was not internet connected (I mean, it probably could have been, but we didn't have it set up like that). From what he says the majority of his friends have a console, but on the other hand he tends to be friends with people who have a console at the moment, as that is how he communicates with them, so who knows? He does have WhatsApp groups with his friends as well, but I think the majority of his friendships at the moment are carried out over the Xbox, to the extent that I notice he seems to have new friends who are on the Xbox more often, and is not interacting with old friends who are not.

Mine (14 and 12) don't have them.
The eldest only got a mobile phone in September. His old school didn't let them have them in school. Not even turned off. Was rather a shock at their new school that the teachers ask them to use them in lessons. The youngest still doesn't have one.

DS (also 11 and also at a Grammar school if it makes any difference) has a PS4 and a Switch. He can play on his dad’s Xbox if he wants which is in the living room. He’s not much of a gamer though and tends to play alone. He keeps up with his friends on What’s app.

My DS (11) and DD (13) don’t have them. They do a bit of gaming at the weekend on a v old console that belonged to DP when he was a teen, but they aren’t that fussed. Contact their friends through text, gmail, zoom calls, and chat during and after school day with them.
Gaming, for the pleasures it may offer, seems like a huge time-suck with little payback in terms of mental or physical health for the vast majority of children. Think we’ve just sleepwalked into these devices raising our kids.

We've never had an Xbox or PlayStation. DS1 borrowed his uncles Xbox for a couple of months once when he was ill and pretty much house bound all it seemed to do was update for hours on end

DS1 17 has a PC, we have a family laptop, a switch and a couple of tablets.
My younger two are 9 and 10, they don't go on any games where you speak to other people they just play against each other or on their own.

@LadyCatStark what is the difference between a PS4 and a Switch. A quick google suggests they are both made by Nintendo, so what is the difference / why does he need both? Is one portable?

What a good boy
If he isn’t complaining and doesn’t need one don’t get one ☝️
Not BU
He probably will ask at some stage ..

@dingdongmerrilytyiu a PS4 is a PlayStation and not made by Nintendo. Senior school age I would def say an x box or playstation rather than a switch.

Although ds still plays on his switch too it's def aimed at a younger audience. The switch is portable though which the PlayStation and x box arent. All three have online capabilities.

It’s how my 13yo keeps up with his friends. One friend and his sibling have both Xbox and PS each(!) and got the new Xbox for Xmas. Mine was disappointed he didn’t get an Xbox, I had to explain a) they were all sold out and b) he already had one. I guess I just don’t get it, upgrading it every couple of years.

My son is 16 and doesn't have one. Not getting one either.

My son (8) has both an Xbox and a PlayStation... I don’t think we know anyone who doesn’t have one or the other...

@treeeeemendous My son is Y8 and has a switch. He plays online with friends who have xboxes, mostly fortnite and minecraft. Is there any advantage to having an Xbox as well? Is there anything he can do on an Xbox that he can't on a switch?

[quote Nix32]@treeeeemendous My son is Y8 and has a switch. He plays online with friends who have xboxes, mostly fortnite and minecraft. Is there any advantage to having an Xbox as well? Is there anything he can do on an Xbox that he can't on a switch?[/quote]
Not really. There are a lot of games that come out on Xbox and PlayStation, and some that come out on all the consoles but don't run very well on the Switch, such as The Outer Worlds.

If he's not bothered about sports games or realistic driving games, which are better and more plentiful on the other consoles, the Switch has more than enough games to keep him happy.

There are a lot of games that come out on Xbox and PlayStation but don't come out on Switch.

Mine do and did at that age, although DS2 (12) has only in the last 6 months become interested in it. Suits me as id really rather he wasn't on it loads!

No they don't all have one and the teacher shouldn't have asked him, or assumed he has one. I noticed that on the BBC Primary bitesize in the last two days there were at least two references to "your phone", assuming that they all have one. So wrong. This was on the one aimed at 7-9 year olds.