A recent viral video has shown a disappointed father forcing his son to destroy a PS4 as a result of bad grades, and it has left some parents divided on how one should discipline their children. What's more, the video isn't the only time the father, Tre Cosby, has destroyed a gaming console on YouTube to punish his child, which may indicate there could be more motivating this viral video than actual punishment.
In the new video, the child is sporting a hoodie that says "Eat, Sleep, Fortnite, Repeat" and is seen to be in visual distress as his father records the video. Tre, who had warned his child about being punished for bad grades, wraps the PS4 in a bag to protect the child from flying shrapnel, and gave his son a crowbar to smash it. The child can't muster up the strength to destroy the console, so Tre takes matters further into his own hands by smashing the console himself, dumping a boulder on it, and running it over with his Ford Mustang.
It turns out that this isn't the first time Tre Crosby has done this. In a video uploaded to YouTube 3 years ago, Tre ran over his son's Xbox as punishment for stealing, and was holding a belt for the majority of the video. One could argue there's a fine line between tough parenting and potentially abusing one's child for YouTube clicks, and at face value, Tre appears to be somewhere in the middle. One could also argue that his recent PS4 video was yet another excessive act, and one that has parents divided on his parenting methods.
Tre also mentioned that his son was using his PS4 to watch YouTube, something which can certainly be done on other devices as well. It's unclear if smashing the PS4 is likely to stop his son from browsing the website, though. It's also unclear if excessive gaming is another issue at the root of this situation, too.
Compulsive video game playing is recognized as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization, and it's a not a joking matter. Many gamers have lost their jobs, gotten divorces, and even passed away feeding their addiction. Many young Fortnite fans have been sent to rehab to deal with their addictions, prompting popular Fortnite streamer Ninja to clap back at parents for failing to control their child's video game intake.
It's ultimately unclear exactly how much time the child in the above video spent playing Fortnite (or other games), but his father clearly blamed the boy's poor grades on the PS4 itself. That said, some may see forcing a child to destroy their PS4 and then putting the video online as a shaming tactic to be an extreme punishment.
Source: Tre Cosby – YouTube