I’m watching my kids play Fortnite and it is the worst version of down for self I have ever seen. Nobody wants to share weapons. Everyone wants to go their own way and every instance of imperfection ends in an argument. In other words, it is a natural extension of brotherhood. Everyone wants to be in charge and everyone thinks they are right. It is ridiculous and childish and they tend to make it seem like it is of the utmost importance in their lives. They have to be absolutely right and superior in this moment, because, well, I really have no idea and that is the problem.
I don’t understand brotherhood just as much as I don’t understand Fortnite. This last failed effort dragged us into a fight that split the family for the night. Yay, Fortnite. In general the game seems to press on emotions in a way that leaves me confused and breathless. It is entirely worth a sociological study. I mean seriously, the game is predicated on people gaining skins and dances that have no value outside of social currency for which you can either pay real currency or work towards (after an initial payment of $10 per season or $40 flat rate in order to enable you to grind for more currency).
Both the game and the generalized brother drama are predicated on how people think and feel about themselves and how they judge the others around them. Each of my boys brings a sense of pride and expectation to the table. When either is challenged it results in emotional distress, which tends to play itself out as a larger conflict–either through a game or argument or both. This has been going on for over a decade and each day is another day of learning about how and why such things happen.