Quick question - my son (11) wants to join Discord to chat with his Fortnite squad. I know basically nothing about it. Is this a platform I should be worried about or is it like... group chat? What should I know before I let him use it?
Honestly download it yourself and poke around for like 20 mins. You'll get the idea immediately. It's not scary, just need to know what he's doing. And definitely check his friends list before approving
It's literally just group chat with voice. Way safer than random Fortnite fill squads on console honestly. At least you can see a server and kick people. Just tell him no streaming his game and he's golden.
One thing nobody mentions - Discord can be a gateway to stuff you don't want him on. Not trying to fear monger but gaming servers sometimes link to sketchy Discord communities. Just be aware and maybe do a random check-in every few weeks on who he's actually talking to
honestly discord is fine. what worried me was him spending 4 hours a day on it instead of doing anything else. Maybe set a time limit before he joins so you're not dealing with that battle later.
It's basically group chat + voice + video but with way more flexibility. The issue isn't Discord, it's that your son will be talking to randoms online. Way more exposure than a regular group chat. There's predators but also just... weird people. Keep an eye on who's in that server
The parental controls on Discord are actually pretty solid now. I set up my 10yo's account with everything locked down and I can see her messages. Not creepy, just being responsible. Plus honestly most 11yo Fortnite squads are just kids yelling
Let him use it but make the account together. Walk through the settings. Check in on it like you'd check in on anything else. It's genuinely safer than just letting him figure it out on his own
Discord itself is fine but you need to set it up right. Make his account private, turn off DMs from randoms, and honestly just join the server with him first to see what it looks like. 11 is pretty young for voice chat with strangers imo
Discord itself is pretty safe - it's basically group chat/voice rooms. But the real issue is who your son talks to. Fortnite squads are usually randoms, and yeah, you get weirdos. Set it to friends-only, check in on who he's actually talking to. Also mute all DMs from non-friends.
The bigger concern isn't the platform, it's whether he understands not to share personal info or accept random game requests. Had to have that talk with mine - people will pretend to be kids to get info. Teach him that first before he joins.
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lol my 12yo did the same thing. I made him share his screen with me occasionally so I could see who's in his server. Not creepy surveillance way, just... present. Also Discord has decent parental controls if you set up Family Center.