What do you want to do?

Many adults today are rooted in long-held friendships that took shape before the digital era. It is true that many boys have their deepest relationships with in-person friends at school, in their neighbourhood, or on their sports team. Yet it is also true that young people today have rich, meaningful and reciprocal relationships with peers that take place solely online.

I’m particularly interested in authors who view their protagonists with depth, range and emotional complexity. The characters in these books are role models for boys who do not always make the right decisions but do always strive to treat others—and themselves—with courage, compassion and integrity.

We need more than a single day of awareness to ensure their wellbeing. We need sensitive and committed caregivers who understand the unique needs of boys and young men and anchor them in supportive environments and relationships.

Yes, boys are impressionable and can be affected by ‘toxic’ masculinity. But they are also resilient and inherently capable of meeting the harshness and rigidity of harmful spaces with resistance, integrity and a commitment to their best selves.

Getting to know Minecraft is a way for us to strengthen trusting relationships with our boys. If we demonstrate that we will approach their video games with understanding, that gives us a better chance of being able to support them through serious experiences later in adolescence.