Fortnite is Not Addictive, Says Researcher

Parents, concerned friends, and my downstair neighbors who hear my post-Victory Royale screams of [...]

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Parents, concerned friends, and my downstair neighbors who hear my post-Victory Royale screams of elation, don't worry: my "addiction" to Fortnite is not harmful. Says who? Says science.

Andrew Reid, a doctoral researcher of serious games at Glasgow Caledonian University, has come out and said that while some people (everyone) are finding it hard to stop playing Fortnite, the game isn't addictive, at least not from a scientific viewpoint.

Reid essentially warns that popular doesn't equate to addictive, and that using a term like addictive can stigmatize regular consumers of video games. Further, the world has inherent negative connotations. When you think of addictive you think of drugs or cigarettes or undesirable vices.

However, according to Reid's research, there has been evidence of what he calls "positive characteristics of play."

As you may know, Reid's claims come on the back of widespread chatter about Fortnite that has developed as the game has swallowed up the world. More specifically, people are discussing the game, and how it has usurped the hours of many to the point it is being talked about regularly on mainstream news outlets. Further, the discussion of children being addicted to it has been raised by many parents, as well as schools who are apparently having trouble combating Fortnite's evasive ability in the classroom.

However, unlike some others, Reid is hesitant to label the game addictive or label some of its players as "addicts."

"To do otherwise would be to stigmatise the medium as an evil to our society, despite a growing portfolio of video games and research that reinforce the positive characteristics of play and interactivity," said the researcher.

Reid added that it would be better to consider the reasons for why video games are so widely consumed, rather than simply label them as addictive, and disregard them.

However, Reid did advise parents to encourage children to still play in moderation, as well as to play the game themselves, so that they can be on the same wavelength and speak the same language.

Reid also notes that there is still more research that needs to be conducted on what constitutes video-game addiction, but at the moment it is considered to be when excessive consumption of games conflict with everyday living. And while this may be the situation for some players, for a majority it isn't. And according to Reid, this is why simply referring to the game as an addictive property is an issue.

Source: BBC

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