Ever sinceFortniteand its battle royale mode exploded in popularity a few years ago, there has been much talk about the impact the game has on the kids that play it. Various studies have been done, with some pointing toFortnitebeing incredibly addictive, which is evidenced by some kids being sent to literal rehab to get over their addiction to the game. But while there’s been a lot of focus on the potential negative impactFortnitemay have on kids' mental health, the game could have some benefits as well.
Computers in Human Behaviorhas published a study conducted by Anat Shoshani and Maya Krauskopf called “The Fortnite social paradox: The effects of violent-cooperative multi-player video games on children’s basic psychological needs and prosocial behavior.” The study consisted of 845 elementary school students who were separated into groups. Some students playedFortnite, categorized in the study as aviolent video game, while others played pinball, categorized as a neutral game. Some of the students played with partners and others played solo.
RELATED:Fortnite Leaker Has Bad News for Metroid Fans
As explained by PsyPost, the goal of the study was to see ifFortniteactually encouraged prosocial behavior in the students that played it, despite its violent content. To measure this, the researchers told students they could potentially win $150 for participating in the study, and they were asked how much of that money they would be donate to charity. Then when the initial play session was over, the students were asked if they would give up more of their time to help with another study.
The results showed that both those who playedFortnitewith a partner and those whoplayedFortnitealonewere more likely to give money to charity and help researchers with their next study when compared to the kids that played pinball. The results seemingly back up the researchers' hypothesis that playingFortnitecan actually result in more prosocial behavior in children.
As PsyPost points out, there could be a variety of explanations as to why that is, and the researchers didn’t account for the children already playingFortniteregularly. According to the study, all 845 students that participated were already playingFortnitein their free time. This could mean that they simply enjoyed playingFortnitemore than the kids who were playing pinball, and that in turn encouraged the prosocial behavior noted by the researchers. And there has also been examples of the popular battle royale game encouraging undesirable behavior as well, like with kids playing it for excessive hours or bullying others for usingFortnite’s default skins, so the link betweenFortnite, video games in general, and prosocial behavior is definitely complex.
More research will need to be done in regards toFortnitepromoting prosocial behavior in kids, as well as more research intoviolent video games and their impact on mental health.
Fortniteis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
