My sons celebrate the arrival of their Xbox 360 this Christmas.
I hadn’t seen or heard from my 17-year-old son for 12 hours.
After his Saturday-morning basketball practice, Ben had gone to a friend’s house to hang out. I had neglected to give him a firm time to check in or come home, so of course, he didn’t do either. Around 8:30 p.m., I began having those “mom” visions of him splattered on the side of a road somewhere.
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t just text him or call his cell. Uh… he’s one of the few teenagers on the planet who does not own a cell phone. (My mantra: Want a cell phone? Get a job!) I didn’t know his friend’s number, either, nor did I know his friend’s address (and I was too lazy to look it up in the phone book).
So my husband, our 13-year-old, and I put our heads together. I suggested texting Ben via his iPod Touch, but it was locked. Then my hubby had the bright idea of seeing if Ben was online, playing Xbox 360 Live. Our 13-year-old gaming expert logged on to our Xbox, and sure enough, there was Ben’s avatar, immersed in an 8-hour shoot ‘em up gaming marathon.
After our 13-year-old delightedly informed his brother of how much trouble he was in for not checking in, I grabbed the headset.
“Hey, Ben; it’s Mom.”
“Oh, Hi, Mrs. Christianson. This is Chase.”
“Hi, Ben’s mom. It’s Jon.”
After I greeted his friends, my son said hello, and agreed to come home within the hour.
Mystery solved, thanks to the marvels of social media.
People don’t often think of video games as social media, but they truly are. With Internet connectivity and the ability to play interactive games with others across the globe, video games have become the social medium of choice for many. At least for teenage boys.
