UNIVERSIDAD SAN FRANCISCO DE QUITO

WRITING & RHETORIC

RODRIGO ESPINOZA (00206533)

FORTNITE IMPACT ON CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Video games have evolved to become an integral part of society, to the point where it

was registered that in the United States, 74% of children between the ages of 13-14 play

videogames on their phones, consoles, computers, etc. It was also recorded that 70% of teenagers

between the ages of 15-17 play these games regularly (Statista 2015). People can find these types

of games anywhere, which is why they are so successful, especially in children and adolescents.

People who were born into technology view these games differently from those who did not.

Social life and interactions with people are a very important aspect of a person’s life, nowadays,

these types of interactions are changing, and it is not rate to hear that a couple, who is now

married, met his/her wife/husband through a social platform on the internet.

As it was stated previously, the way humans interact is changing, to the point where a

great part of a children's social life is playing videogames with friends. It is true that people can

benefit from playing these games, they enhance coordination, improve problem solving skills,

brain speed, multitasking speed, and so on (Eugenio, 2017).However, there have been a great

number of cases where people have been negatively affected by these games, especially children

and teenagers. Some of these people get addicted, and had to be forced into rehab and take
medication. Recently, there have been numerous cases reported that children have been getting

addicted or negatively affected by the game Fornite.

Fortnite is an online game that launched its battle royale gamemode in 2017, it consists of

100 people on an island fighting to see who the last man alive is. This game rose in popularity

very quickly, dragging the attention of millions of players, including celebrities and professional

athletes like Drake, Harry Kane, Mezut Ozil, etc (Kirkland, 2018). This game offers its players

the chance to play with their friends, regardless if they play on a phone, console or computer.

Due to the game’s flexibility, it has attracted 250 million players as of 2019 (Statista, 2019). The

problem is that with such a large fan base, there is always a percentage that will become

negatively affected by the game.

Observations:

Since this game is relatively new, there is no official data that quantifies how many

people are addicted to the game of amount of hours they spend on it. However, a poll was taken

in the TV program “This Morning” where parents were asked if they were concerned the game

Fortnite was having a negative effect on their child. The results showed that 59% of the parents

thought that this game was not having a negative effect on their child, whereas the remaining

41% thought it was a detriment to their child’s life (Sheppard 2019).

An interesting case about Fortnite addiction is Debbie Vitany’s son, Carson. She stated

that he has been playing around 12 hours a day, regardless if it was a school day or weekend.

“I’ve never seen a game that has such control over kids’ minds”. This is what Debbie Vitany
said. She is concerned that this game is taking over Carson’s life, to the point where she says that

it is ‘controlling his mind’. She also said that Carson’s school teachers told her that he has been

falling asleep in the middle of class, which led to a dramatic decrease in his school performance

(Palmeri, 2018).

Other people have more dramatic opinions. Psychologist Dr Leonard Sax told

LiveScience that some patents told him that their child is learning collaboration skills through

this game, and that it is a useful skill. Dr Sax responded that this type of skill is not useful, and

that in the real world collaboration is about listening to your colleagues and making eye contact

with him/her. He stated that killing people is not a social skill (Burrows, 2018).

Discussion:

It is clear that Fortnite has had an impact on children, and parents have just started to take

notice. Regarding the poll taken on the program “This Morning”, the results show that a

significant amount of parents think that this game is bad for their children. More than 1 out of 3

parents think that Fortnite is creating negative thoughts on their child, and being negative overall

in their lives.

Carson’s case is the most common one regarding video game addiction that can be

described, it starts with playing video games for excessive amounts of time, and giving that

activity the most importance, to the detriment of others. Playing for long periods of time can

relate to an inability to stop the activity in action. The decrease in his school grades can be
connected to social problems that an addiction causes, which is dropping hobbies or activities.

As it can be seen, Carson’s case can be described as an addiction to Fortnite, which affects the

person no different than an addiction to a drug (Felman & Legg, 2018).

It is also evident that other people, such as psychologist Dr Leonard Sav have more

dramatic opinions about this topic. If the statements of Dr Sax are analyzed, it is clear that he is

concerned about the game’s killing aspect, he states that killing is not a social skill, which

obviously isn’t, but he says this with another goal in mind. In the United States, mass shootings

in schools are very common, just in 2019 alone, there were 283 total mass shootings, and some

were less than 24 hours apart from each other (Silverstein, 2019). It is clear that people in this

country show concern for children getting addicted to games that involve killing. Dr Leonard

Sax shows this concern in his statements.

Recommendations:

Regarding the possible solution to inhibit and prevent the negative effects of Fortnite in

children and adolescents, it will be best if these were applied by parents or someone who is close

to the person who plays the game.

★ Take note or pay attention to the amount of time the person spends playing Fortnite, if

he/she is spending an extended period of time on it, then intervene as soon as possible.

Give the person a specific amount of time he/she is allowed to play the game.
 ★ Check if the person is setting aside other activities that he/she enjoys just to play the

game, if this is the case do not force the person to do these activities again, otherwise it

can cause him/her to play the game more.

★ If the person gets angry or easily irritated when not playing the game, search for

professional help, as this may be an indicator that and addiction to Fortnite has been

developed, and that is becoming a detriment to his/her life.

Conclusion:

As it can be seen, video games have changed the way humans interact dramatically, most

of a child's social life is playing video games with friends. Even though video can have positive a

positive impact on a person, it can also affect him/her in a negative way. Fortnite revolutionized

the world of video games, gaining large amounts of popularity very quickly. However, this led

to children and teenagers to experience the negative effects of this game. It is evident, through

the examples presented, that society is starting to take notice that the negative effects of this

video game can be dramatic. For example, Carson, who plays Fortnite for 12 hours every day

and sets aside every other activity he is supposed to do, even school. Some recommendations

were proposed to help identify, and hopefully intervene soon enough before Fortnite becomes a

negative aspect of the person’s life. In conclusion, it can be said that Fortnite, even though it

provides fun and entertainment for people, can be a detriment to a person’s life if not handled

correctly.
References:

Burrows, T. (2018). ​Fortnite addiction fears as experts warn of growing gaming crisis as more children get

hooked​. [online] The Sun. Available at:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6537141/fortnite-addiction-fears-children-crisis/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Eugenio, S. (2017). ​Engadget is now a part of Verizon Media​. [online] Engadget.com. Available at:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/09/8-cognitive-benefits-of-playing-video-games-for-kids/ [Accessed

17 Oct. 2019].

Felman, A. & Legg, T. (2018). ​Addiction: Symptoms, effects, and what to look for​. [online] Medical News

Today. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323459.php [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Kirkland, J. (2018). ​10 Celebrities Who Play 'Fortnite,' Ranked​. [online] Esquire. Available at:

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/g20139550/celebrities-playing-fortnite/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Palmeri, C. (2018). ​Fortnite addiction forces children into video game rehab.​ [online] The Independent.

Available at:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/fortnite-addiction-video-games-rehab-chil

dren-battle-royale-parents-a8665071.html [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Sheppard, C. (2019). ​What is Fortnite and does the video game have an age rating certificate?​. [online]

The Sun. Available at:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/5745474/video-game-fortnite-age-rating-certificate-children-play/

[Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Silverstein, J. (2019). ​There have been more mass shootings than days this year.​ [online] Cbsnews.com.

Available at:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-mass-shootings-than-days-so-far-this-year/

[Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Statista. (2015). ​U.S. teen video game player age 2015 | Statista.​ [online] Available at:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/454329/teen-video-game-players-age-usa/ [Accessed 17 Oct.

2019].

Statista. (2019). ​Fortnite player count 2019 | Statista​. [online] Available at:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/746230/fortnite-players/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].