THREAD: About the Fortnite hysteria, from a professor who studies video games and mental health and who is also a parent of two 12-year old boys that play Fortnite. 1/N

TL;DR: The game is not evil. Nor is it particularly different in inciting the moral panic engendered by past popular media trends. Parenting is the more likely cause for concerns that are blamed on the game. 2/N

Fortnite is a well-designed game - with a super-responsive development team - that appeals to a large age-range, particularly those who love social, adrenaline-fueled play. It's doing what almost all games aim to do: Keep players engaged. 3/N

There is no research, no data, no substantiated evidence linking Fortnite to violence, aggression, depression. None. Also: calling it an addiction is hugely problematic not only because there's no science to back up, but it downplays "true" addiction. 4/N

Lack of evidence is not only because it’s a relatively new game. There’s decades of data, and meta-analyses (I can’t believe I’m still linking to this), that shows no causal link between violent games and any real-world violence. See @CJFerguson1111 work...5/N

Example reviews:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691615592234 …

http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fbul0000074 …

Interesting to note in the context of new Fortnite trend: on a societal level, new releases in violent video games are related to DECREASES in violent crime:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/soej.12139?referrer_access_token=dkYPiLfMCmOcsREMNRWgGk4keas67K9QMdWULTWMo8PiihhC5vTxCpl8yicK21g89avKudRh5v6SuYD3-4Rz9SxW96tlQ-vbPKymfOocxo6gpYVEgceA0bJe2udMKfCk … 6/N

More to my point: So what DOES tons of research point to as causally related to aggression, violence, depression? PARENTING. 7/N

Summary of research: Permissive, lax (and harsh) parenting that is characterized by lack of rules and inconsistent consequences strongly predicts mental health and behavioural problems in children.

http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/35patterson90.pdf …



https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54e3c4b3e4b02a415877e452/t/558bfd2ae4b00b444fe398e7/1435237674200/knerrgardnercluver.pdf … 8/N

But: Parents are very busy, need a break, don’t have time to keep up with new gaming content, and most are deeply concerned for the wellbeing of their kids.



It’s a lot easier to blame a game (or comics, tv, rock & roll, horror movies) than to consider our role as parents. 9/N

Blaming parents isn’t the answer either. Educating them is, and not through op-ed pieces that rely on fear-mongering, click-bait headlines which have no basis in science. 10/N

The vast majority of kids who play Fortnite will be alright. Those who are young and compulsively playing, losing sleep, becoming irritable, and disengaged from activities they once enjoyed, are likely those without reasonably-set rules & consistent consequences. 11/N

Like parenting practices around junk food, reasonable limits can be set for kids, and especially WITH kids, so they learn to reflect on their own wellbeing and set their own limits eventually. 12/N

For parents sick of hearing “Almost done. One last game”: What’s worked for us: (1) Don’t freak, they’re not addicted (the pathologizing of gaming may do more harm than the games themselves) (2) set a timer & provide consistent consequences (without anger) when they go over..13/N

And my personal favourite: (3) Use Fortnite as a reward after they do what you consider "healthy" (homework, chores, sports, reading, dinner at the table). End/N

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