How Fortnite Triggered an Unwinnable War Between Parents and Their Boys

The last-man-standing videogame has grabbed onto American boyhood, pushing aside other pastimes and hobbies and transforming family dynamics

Some boys are opting to play Fortnite for such long hours that it has become the primary component of their social life. We talked to three friends in San Francisco who obsess over the online game and their parents, who are wrestling with its impact.
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SAN FRANCISCO—Toby Ghassemieh is an inquisitive 12-year-old boy with a pet gecko named Coco and the makings of an ant colony in a bedroom cupboard. He built a forge in his backyard with plaster of Paris to melt aluminum into ingots. He wants to be a physicist when he grows up.

All that is on hold, though. What he cares about most is the videogame Fortnite. Same for his buddies Matthew Seiden, Max Howe, Jaren Erville and Reed Leidlein, who all live in or near the city’s Richmond neighborhood.

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