Prince Harry Wants to Ban Fortnite!? Should We?
Prince Harry wants to ban Fortnite. But is that a good idea?
Fortnite is (still) the hottest game in the world. It has over 250 million players, and earned over $2.4 billion dollars in revenue in 2018.
Yet it’s tearing some families apart with Fortnite addiction issues. Should we ban it?
My thoughts:
Should We Ban Fornite?
As much as I love helping people overcome their video game addiction, and have a huge amount of sympathy for those that are struggling, I don’t think banning games is the way to go.
Gaming, social media, and the internet are here to stay.
We need to learn how to be responsible with these technologies, and learning how to maintain a healthy and enjoyable relationship with them is crucial.
Although I don’t think we should ban Fortnite, I believe that we should hold gaming companies more responsible.
As of right now, the gaming industry are free to create games that target and exploit a very particular subset of the population.
What’s the Issue?
You have to remember that the majority of gamers have no issues at all with addiction.
They’re able to manage their time effectively, and don’t forgo responsibilities to play games.
However, for a large number of people, gaming is a problem.
An increasing number of video games contain systems that cause them to be extremely addictive, as well as making gambling freely accessible to young children.
These systems allow video games to become extremely problematic for those that struggle with addiction, and don’t have the support in place to deal with it.
What Can We Do?
First and foremost, we need to make people more aware of the effects of gaming on themselves and their children.
For parents that means learning about the games that their children play, knowing the mechanics behind addiction, and understanding how to deal with video game addiction.
This can only happen if we work towards building public awareness of the gaming industry, and making this issue more well-known.
While this sounds great in theory, the video gaming industry is now worth over $140 billion dollars, making them a formidable opponent to putting regulations in place.
Having people like Prince Harry and Dr. Amir Khan going viral in the media is an incredible boost for the cause, but it doesn’t make a difference if people do nothing.
We discussed #gaming addiction this morning.@DrAmirKhanGP described some of the more extreme cases he's seen in young children ⬇️#games #addiction pic.twitter.com/wc2HBweSxO
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) April 5, 2019
That’s why a lot of our work at Game Quitters is centered on getting the word out there.
We need to let people know that this is an issue happening right now, and it’s effecting millions of people over the globe.
Still Struggling with Fortnite?
Read our parents guide on Fortnite addiction
Additional reading: Fortnite: Is Prince Harry right to want game banned?