In their latest weekly update, Bungie highlighted a video which shows an 11 year old player, streaming on Twitch at the time, who gave control of his PS4 to another user through Share Play. The other user promptly backed out and deleted two of the kid’s high-level Destiny characters. The video ends with the poor child sobbing as he realises what has happened.
This provoked a powerful response online. A lot of sympathy, a few people chiding the parents for letting an 11 year old play an online shooter, some who see it as a fair warning on who to trust online. Then you had the people who threatened the perpetrator, sending the death threats one expects the moment you do something controversial online.
Eurogamer has a good breakdown of the entire incident, including quotes from the child and his mother, which I recommend reading should you wish to get the full background of the story. For their part Bungie can’t, or rather won’t, do much to help beyond pointing out the threat of the problem. It sets a bad precedent for Bungie to intervene in one particular case, they say. They’re probably right on that point, if they step in here, where does it end? They have promised to look at ways of making such drastic measures less permanent, if this includes an ‘undelete’ option or something similar, we don’t know.
Where this story twists is the perpetrator, who Game Informer tracked down to get his side of the incident. The owner of the PSN account that committed this deed denies responsibility, but can’t do more than point towards a variety of family, friends or children who could have been using his account while he has been incapacitated following a car accident. The accident can be verified, but already people are questioning his innocence as other claims of trolling by this account are emerging.
While the comment driven news cycle of not just games coverage but all online media encourages snap reactions, few events can be accurately interpreted from one viewpoint. A quick glance at the comments sections on these articles or on Twitter show a huge swing of condemnation of the perpetrator to “told you so’s” when his accident was revealed. Now that might swing back again if these other allegations of trolling are proven correct. Perhaps even the infirm can be assholes on the internet.
Most of the outrage stems from the trolling of an innocent child. Fair enough, we like to think we can protect our children from terrible people, and those who knowingly prey on children are rightly despised in society. Yet in a world where trolling is enjoyed for entertainment value as often as it is condemned, eventually this was going to happen. Had this happened to a 21 year old instead of an 11 year old chances are it is highlighted as a “classic troll” rather than an outrage. Heck, against a loud mouthed 14 year old a lot of people wouldn’t find this offensive, and how many of you can tell a 14 year old from an 11 year old in voice chat?
A little empathy goes a long way. Not just for 11 year olds who have their Destiny characters deleted, but everybody. Car accident victims, even if they are trolls. People who are harrassed online. Developers who lose their jobs. The homeless living on the street. Sometimes it is okay to have an opinion that straddles the fence rather than sitting on one side lobbing grenades at the other. Think about how the people those grenades explode next to might feel.
This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.
