You’re not seeing the big picture.... Why might a student play Fortnite until 3am? Maybe because their parent is absent or they’re out dealing drugs or incarcerated and they live with a guardian who doesn’t understand what is happening or they’re parent just doesn’t give a shit. We know that science says that games like Fortnite feed into impulse and low risk/high reward. We also know that traumatic experience in early life impact brain development and make games like these even more addictive. By saying “it’s not like watching your siblings when your parents works late” implies a bias toward what you perceive as “acceptable” trauma. This behavior is indicative of an absent parent and that is scientifically accepted as being traumatic for a teenager.

At the end of the day playing games until the middle of the night isn’t okay but by taking the time to learn the games that are popular and attempting to engage with students about them, you might find out the reason behind it all or at least enough to work on developing a relationship with them. Sure, a student may shut you down but the day a teacher decides that it isn’t worth it to try, is the day a teacher should consider whether or not they are burnt out.