Exclusive: 'Fortnite' survey shows kids are playing in class. So what can parents do? If getting the kids and teens in y...
Exclusive: 'Fortnite' survey shows kids are playing in class. So what can parents do?
If getting the kids and teens in your
home to disconnect from "Fortnite" feels like a battle royal, take just a
little bit of comfort. Parents, you are not alone.
Not
that that’s going to completely relieve your stress over the widely
popular third-person shooter game, played by over 200 million mostly
obsessed people, your kids very likely among them. The game can be
played solo or in teams or squads as part of a multiplayer match known
as “Battle Royale.”
Kids play "Fortnite” in class when they should be paying attention to their teachers. They play on phones, tablets, PCs, Macs and on video game consoles hooked up to wall-size TVs.
What's
more, when they play, they may be chatting up strangers, exposed to
(cartoonish) violence and taking in inappropriate language. And, oh
yeah, they’re playing at the expense of doing their homework or engaging
in physical activities.
While
free to play, the kids are also spending gobs of money. Publisher Epic
Games has made at least $1.2 billion on the sale of V-Bucks, the
in-game currency used to purchase dances (which are called “emotes”),
skins and custom outfits for your in-game alter-ego.
“There
is no question that 'Fortnite' is the biggest pain point in terms of
media and tech for kids today, and certainly their parents,” says Jim
Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit advocacy group for kids
and families. “In the big picture, media and tech are designed to be
addictive, period. This is emblematic of the fact that kids and teens
are living their life on devices and online.”
To get a better handle on the cultural phenomenon that “Fortnite” has become, and its impact, Common Sense teamed up with SurveyMonkey and in October polled a national sample of 19,063 adults – including 2,111 parents with children between 8 and 17 years old – and 1,348 teenagers ages 13 to 17.
Among
the high-level results of the Common Sense study, which have been
released exclusively to USA TODAY and timed with the launch of
"Fortnite" Season 7, about 1 in 5 parents find it at least moderately
difficult to get kids off the game, and about a quarter say they're
concerned about how much time their kid is playing.
Meantime
– and this has especially got to be a bummer for you moms and dads to
hear – 27 percent of teens admitted that they were playing "Fortnite" in
the classroom.
Heck, when you were 15, you'd have
probably preferred surviving “Battle Royale” than geometry, too. But
the issue is serious for parents and educators. "This is something that
we have to deal with. This isn’t a small story; this is a big story,”
says Jon Cohen, director of research at SurveyMonkey, commenting on the
classroom revelation.
There's good news, too
Fortunately,
there are glass half-full results in the survey, too: Half of the teens
revealed that “Fortnite” helps them keep up with friends, and half say
it helps with teamwork. Another 44 percent say they’ve made a friend
online while playing, and 39 percent say they’ve bonded with a sibling.
Yes,
teen girls (47 percent) play as well, though not as often as their
brothers (75 percent). And about 22 percent of boys play at least once a
day, compared to 9 percent of girls.
As popular as
“Fortnite” is, 61 percent of the teens overall say they’ve played, but
the percentage is lower compared to the teens who say they use Snapchat
(73 percent) and Instagram (74 percent), albeit in a prior survey.
Still, Cohen calls the number of kids playing "Fortnite" “staggering” and a phenomenon given the game’s recent emergence.
Adds
Steyer: “This is the arms race for kids’ attention, and whether it’s
'Fortnite' or Instagram, the tech industry is winning."
But
is this really all that different from generations past with eyes glued
to TV screens instead of handheld, portable screens? Actually, Steyer
says, yeah.
“The scientific studies about the
impact on brain development, etc., between video games or online and
social media versus you sitting there and watching 'Hogan’s Heroes’ is a
totally different experience,” Steyer says. “And, by the way, most
people didn’t spend eight hours in a row just watching 'Gilligan’s
Island’ or 'Let’s Make a Deal.’ ”
Establish limits
So
how can parents divert Junior’s attention away from "Fortnite"? One tip
is to play the game yourself, something 1 in 5 dads has already done
compared to 18 percent of moms. You might end up having a nice bonding
experience with your kid while discovering the tricks of the game and
just what it is you are up against.
Whether you
play or not, set clear limits, which might vary depending on how your
kid plays. "Fortnite" has a “playground mode” that allows players to
"respawn” or come back to life; in that mode, set limits by time. The
length will vary by family, of course, but something reasonable would be
a half-hour to 90 minutes a day, with the higher limit reserved, say,
for the weekend.
Meanwhile, if your kids are engaged in a “Battle Royale,” you might also limit gameplay by the number of “rounds.”
Either
way, tell your kids they can’t play after a certain hour of day and
don’t let them take a device to bed. In fact, some parents might choose
to let their kid play only in a common space of the house.
“It
requires active parenting. You just cannot sit there on the couch and
ignore this,” Steyer says. “And, by the way, if they don’t follow the
rules, take 'Fortnite' (or the phone) away … for two weeks … It’s
torture, but too bad. And they do get the message.”
Other
options for parents: If you’re worried about your kid talking to
strangers, don’t give them the headset they would use for that purpose.
Common
Sense also directs parents to settings within “Fortnite” to limit
conversations to people whose handles the kids know. You can also turn
off voice chat. And if all else fails, impose the parental controls that
are on the phone or computer the kid uses to play or that may be part
of your Wi-Fi router.
It remains to be seen
whether "Fortnite" can sustain its popularity long term, but even if it
fades, expect something else to capture your kid’s fancy.
“There
will be something after 'Fortnite,' ” Steyer says. “This is the story
of kids’ lives today and our lives, and we have to come to terms with
that.”
Is your family into "Fortnite" or other immersive video games? Share your battles and triumphs with us on Twitter at @usatodaytech or on Facebook.
Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter
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