Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Fortnite

2023; Elsevier BV; Volume: 62; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jaac.2023.04.002

1527-5418

Anne B. McBride,

Before first playing Fortnite, all I knew was that it was a shooter game (a game involving avatars engaging in combat with weapons) that many teens played for hours and hours. When I decided to first play, step 1 of my journey was to search the internet for “What is Fortnite?” My research revealed that it is a survival-shooter game where players fight off zombie-like creatures and build fortifications to protect stuff. But why the misspelling of the word fortnight? Another quick internet search yielded conflicting answers: one user reported that the game has nothing to do with fortnights and everything to do with building forts and surviving the night, while another noted that you actually do have to last 14 nights in save-the-world mode. With this extensive review under my belt, I decided I was now sufficiently prepared to play. My 6-year-old son was not so sure. When I told him about the looming game with my colleagues, he begged me relentlessly to play. Although he had never played Fortnite, he had once attended a family gathering where he watched another child play. I had previously been opposed to him playing any shooter game, particularly one labeled teen, but I gave in, knowing that he would be well supervised. During the actual game play, he patiently taught me which buttons to press and often had to come find me each time I became lost. While I accidently picked up and examined my map in the midst of battle, he seamlessly slayed surrounding foes and revived me each time I was near death. It was a sobering experience to be so completely outdone by a 6-year-old. But, boy, did we both have fun. I learned very little about the game itself due to my lack of proficiency. However, my biggest revelation was that the game was really not as dangerous or offensive as I had imagined. My son was certainly not scarred by the experience. Rather, we found another way to connect, work as a team, and enjoy ourselves. As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I gained perspective on the bonding benefits of parents engaging with their children in technology that they may not independently pursue. I also tempered my judgment of video games, acknowledging that they could be played in a responsible manner with positive potential gains.