Prince Harry wants Fortnite banned

Look. I have an 11 year old in the house, and I police game time strictly.

I have never seen the response I get from the kid from anyone when I exercise my parental duty to step in and control computer time.

Sobbing on the floor, threatening suicide, punching himself in the face, etc. etc. for hours. As a sortof-parent it's quite harrowing to witness.

And this is only after a couple of hours of game time.

There is something seriously wrong with what this game does to their little heads.

I have a 13 year old step son, and he can be the same way. I feel like Ron Swanson'ing and just yelling at him "Be a Man", but I don't think boys understand what that is anymore.
 
I am pretty convinced there is some subliminal messaging in the game that controls kids. I have played games my whole life and when my parents took my sega away for being the mouthy asshole that I was, I didn't go to the extremes like these kids do when their vbucks run out.
 
or...here is a crazy idea....
parents could actually be parents and raise their damn kids properly.

Being a parent is not about "helicoptering" around the kids all day making every decision for them. It is about providing them the tools to make good decisions themselves. The problem is that you are fighting this battle against a whole bunch of outside influences. You are fighting a losing battle if you think you can control all of those influences forever, and if you
Also, I don't try to lie to myself about my own childhood. I would spend the night at friends' houses and we would stay up until midnight playing NES/SNES. I did plenty of other things that were probably not the best. I was able to think for myself and eventually realize some of that stuff was not beneficial to getting me where I wanted to be.

I am not about banning shit. But if you really believe fortnite (not gaming in general is addicting) you are kidding yourself. I am talking about kids here. Young kids are head over heels for that shit. My nephews personally going crazy over it begging for money to blow over on it lol.

Yea you can raise your kids right, I have seen my newphews get their asses whooped over fortnite lol. But that shit is addictive to kids as it gets. Its like they would go to war with parents over that shit rofl.

We could play NES/SNES for long periods when we were kids, but some of these games nowadays are definitely far more advanced when it comes to creating a dependence, and that need for instant gratification. The funniest part to me is that a year from now, the game could be gone/no longer supported. Everything those kids spent money on and put hours grinding into getting could be gone. But it is all about getting everything, and that social aspect of being able to show/brag on that. Every kid nowadays seems to think they could be a Youtube star.
 
We could play NES/SNES for long periods when we were kids, but some of these games nowadays are definitely far more advanced when it comes to creating a dependence, and that need for instant gratification. The funniest part to me is that a year from now, the game could be gone/no longer supported. Everything those kids spent money on and put hours grinding into getting could be gone. But it is all about getting everything, and that social aspect of being able to show/brag on that. Every kid nowadays seems to think they could be a Youtube star.

I mean that is how I feel about when WoW finally goes out. Probably going to be a night of drinking and sobbing for me lol.
 
Our culture is dying.
I am sad.
The 'west' is going to get its collective ass kicked by a bunch of young men from anywhere who went outside to play sports with their friends as boys.
 
Why is it that someone is always calling for ban instead of calling for parents to get involved with what their kids do and put some balance in their kids' lives
The way I read it, he is calling for parents to get involved. His choice of words (to me) read like he's talking specifically to parents (probably because he was - he made these comments at a YMCA event) - suggesting that allowing the game to be played in your household has no benefits and is a bad idea.

He wasn't speaking to developers or lawmakers or some regulatory body calling for a ban on Fortnite, he was talking to a bunch of families at a YMCA and gave his personal opinion. Many people (in this thread) can't seem to learn that headlines are for clicks.

The article goes on to talk about a variety of evidence that game addiction is a real problem faced by real people and is having real affects on our lives. Getting parents/family more involved, and asking questions like "Where is the benefit of having it in your household?" are, in my opinion, a good thing to do if your aim is to help people.
 
....It's difficult though, because this is how all the boys (and some girls too) his age socialize. Cut him off from Fortnite, and he is cut off from his entire social circle. Not just his social circle, bit all the kids in the goddamned school.

...

So outside of school hours, the only way most kids socialize is Twitch (apart from "play dates" which can't always easily be arranged) and more often than not Twitch means Fortnite. Take it away, and you have not just taken away his current friends, but all possoble friendship.

Need to figure something out though.

Start having Lan parties for him and his friends.

Get them together in person, and then play games. Mix up the games, so let them have some fortnite, but also other games so maybe Overwatch, Call of Duty, hell even old Quakelive. Bringing the personal and social interaction that a Lan party gives, might really help. And if you ask me in-person friendship is much better than 'digital only friends'.

If he has a 'best friend", come up with activities or something to do and have the friend stay the night. So maybe take the kids to see Avengers, and the friend can stay the night after. They can play as a team in Fortnite or whatever else they play. Play games with them, so you can be an involved parent. Seeing what's going on in-game is good parenting.

His reaction is a dead giveaway that this is currently his primary means of socialization. It's a whole other discussion what social media is doing to people... which this game has tapped into.

For you, socialization was riding around the neighborhood on your bike and playing with friends. If you had that taken away for a week at a time, it would have seemed like a pretty harsh punishment to you too.

As far as what Prince Harry thinks, he said "parents should ban it" Not all of that bad of advice, and he did not say "it should be banned"... Bringing it to Parents attention, and recommending limits on "Fortnite time" would be good. Parents are obviously caught off-guard with this social media shit, coming at them sideways thru a computer game. We as a society haven't had time to adjust to whats barely a 10 year old phenomenon... (maybe 15 if that one kids reaction to his WoW being deleted is any indication).

Once someone is an adult (which in my opinion isn't until about 25 years old), they are more stable mentally, having made it through the roller coaster ride that is the hormone-driven adolescence. For now, everything revolving around their social lives feels like life-and-death to them. So understand that the reactions are just adolescence. They have an outburst, count to 30, then say something. Taking a brief pause, the emotion passes, and they can converse reasonably again.

There's nothing wrong with your kid. Just steer him to better social interactions. Fortnite is like an all-sugar diet.
 
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I guess I sit here wondering why anyone would care what Prince Harry thought.
I wonder this every day about the Kardashians, and all of the others that people follow the day to day lives and thoughts of. At least in this case he was speaking to parents at a YMCA, not posting about it on his Twitter or Instagram, or whatever it is people now use to post opinions no one else should care about. Parents might not be clued in to this stuff, and he was letting them know. I see it more like someone letting others know that a certain site has malware embedded within it, so they should probably not visit that site.
 
I wonder this every day about the Kardashians, and all of the others that people follow the day to day lives and thoughts of.

Yeah, anyone having that much interest in the life of another person needs a hobby

At least in this case he was speaking to parents at a YMCA, not posting about it on his Twitter or Instagram, or whatever it is people now use to post opinions no one else should care about. Parents might not be clued in to this stuff, and he was letting them know. I see it more like someone letting others know that a certain site has malware embedded within it, so they should probably not visit that site.

valid point...I guess if anyone were to influence parents, I would rather it be him than one of the self important Hollywood personalities
 
Honestly, i think the article and its title were a bit deceptive. From what he said, it seems like he was saying parents should ban it in their households, not that UK should ban the game.
 
I ust don't like this game period, but it's the parents.....shame shame.
 
Definitely need more government banning addictive things. I mean, look how well it worked with drugs.

I mean, you certainly don't want to force people to have personal responsibility. Someone might get offended.
 
My son(7) plays Fortnite, my daughter(almost 5) watches and copies the dances. The key is, it's in their free time inside the house. After school, homework, activities (sports, dance, etc), playing with friends outside and family time. Too much of anything can be detrimental. Let a kid do anything all day long, I don't care how good you think it is, it will erode the child. A parent who complains that their child plays Fortnite all day is not parenting.

Wait.....did we discover the solution? Parenting.....is that still a thing? Do people still do that? Here's an idea, let's get parents to engage their children. Maybe this Fortnite epidemic will subside
 
I just let my 8 year old start playing it. I haven't let him try battle royale yet, but I play it coop with him. My biggest concern about this game wasn't the violence but what the online community would be like, but it looks like you can disable chat.
 
"It's created to addict, an addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It's so irresponsible.

"It's like waiting for the damage to be done and kids turning up on your doorsteps and families being broken down."
Why does anyone give the Royal family any attention? The British should do what the Greeks did and abolish their monarchy cause it's like waiting for the damage to be done and kids turning up on your doorsteps and families being broken down.
He added that social media was "more addictive than alcohol and drugs".
Anything people do too much of is considered an addiction, but that is not the same as alcohol and drugs.
 
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more like the predatory practices most games comes with now, that could be banned but :p dont mind paying for content or games but it is out of hand and exploitative in so many cases it is bad form to be honest. gone is the day where u paid for an expansion :p but things like league u dont need to buy skins, and they dont cost that much in most cases. and u dont need to buy "rng crates" with 0.002% drop rates for whatever item u so desire :p cd project red, only thing i can think of that is more old school today. overall the internet is becoming worse imo.
 
There IS something particularly nefarious about this game. It may not have this impact on everyone, but there are a lot of kids who are responding VERY negatively to it.

There is literally nothing particularly nefarious about the game - not compared to any other game you could be playing. Video games are fucking fun, and many people would rather be playing one right now than doing whatever it is they're doing instead. Fortnite happens to be free, so anyone can start playing it...that's pretty much it. You drop in and try to win somehow, and a lot of the time you get lit up in 2 minutes and have to start over. If anything I'm surprised more kids don't get frustrated and quit.

Yeah, I am at this point as well.

It's difficult though, because this is how all the boys (and some girls too) his age socialize. Cut him off from Fortnite, and he is cut off from his entire social circle. Not just his social circle, bit all the kids in the goddamned school.

It's not like When we grew up anymore. I'd hop on my BMX and ride around town, and as Long as I was back for lunch and dinner everything would be fine. You can't raise kids that way anymore. You get arrested.

So outside of school hours, the only way most kids socialize is Twitch (apart from "play dates" which can't always easily be arranged) and more often than not Twitch means Fortnite. Take it away, and you have not just taken away his current friends, but all possoble friendship.

Need to figure something out though.

When I was younger it was pretty common for my parents to tell me to go outside and play rather than spend time playing Contra or Final Fantasy or whatever. Was there ever some sort of activity planned outside that I was missing out on? No, they just wanted me to do something else without providing any additional guidance or participation. As noted, kids today also have the social element included in online games that we didn't have with the early console generations, and it sounds like you've basically acknowledged that taking away the games is akin to grounding the kid.

Sobbing on the floor, threatening suicide, punching himself in the face, etc. etc. for hours. As a sortof-parent it's quite harrowing to witness.

Blaming Fortnite for this behavior is completely unfair, and this is not behavior that should be brushed off as the result gaming. This is an extreme attempt at emotional manipulation, to the point of self-harm and threatening suicide, and should be addressed through counseling, etc.
 
Yeah, I am at this point as well.

It's difficult though, because this is how all the boys (and some girls too) his age socialize. Cut him off from Fortnite, and he is cut off from his entire social circle. Not just his social circle, bit all the kids in the goddamned school.

It's not like When we grew up anymore. I'd hop on my BMX and ride around town, and as Long as I was back for lunch and dinner everything would be fine. You can't raise kids that way anymore. You get arrested.

So outside of school hours, the only way most kids socialize is Twitch (apart from "play dates" which can't always easily be arranged) and more often than not Twitch means Fortnite. Take it away, and you have not just taken away his current friends, but all possoble friendship.

Need to figure something out though.
Well now I am all depressed about future generations of our species. Entire schools taken over by Fortnite? You gotta be fucking kidding me. This is insanity. This is how kids today socialize? Geeeeezus. I can't even wrap my head around this shit. As someone who's entire life is devoted to exploring the 3 corners of the video game world (arcade, PC, handheld/home consoles), I can't even understand the dependence on this game. I've loved a lot of video games in my life, but nothing that would consume me like Fortnite appears to be doing to kids today. Not even close. The game isn't even that good. There are some truly awesome games out there, Fortnite is not one of them. If anything Fortnite is just a good example of how shitty the video game industry has become.

Kinda feel like growing up and going to school was much better in a world without Internet (or at least just having dial-up), cell phones, and social media. I was always up in video games when I was comin' up (and if I wasn't playing them I was usually reading about them or listening to game music), but I also spent a lot of time outside playing basketball and riding around on my bike. I also read a lot of books, and fucked around with programming. I didn't really game online, I preferred LANParties (still do). When I was in grade school I wasn't allowed to play video games Monday through Thursday at all, so I don't even know what the fuck today's kids are complaining about. You didn't see me throwing tantrums like a toddler when I had to stop playing games to work on homework, school projects, or just cuz my parents told me to get off. Shiat a lot of the time they didn't even have to tell me to stop playing. No matter how much I love video games, I couldn't stand to play for hours and hours on end. I would eventually just stop playing on my own and go find other shit to do.

The Twitch generation, I just don't get it. You telling me that if you take away Fortnite, a kid in grade school loses all options for friendship and socializing in their school?! I guess we've come a long way from chillin' around the lunch table passing around gaming magazines and video game soundtracks. You know we used to talk about video games in person, face-to-face. Now I guess you gotta live on Facebook, Twitch, and in games designed to never end, but to just keep milking money off you. When I was in school every dude was into video games, and while people put serious time into games like Diablo 2 and stuff, I never saw any game completely take over homeys and change their personalities like Fortnite appears to be doing. Maybe there really is something going on with this game.

All these kids think Epic is the Fortnite factory huh? I guess they aren't familiar with Epic MegaGames and the awesome shit they used to make (all of which are still faaaar better than Fortnite).

Also yeah, parents need to start being parents and stop passing the blame and shirking responsibilities. Zarathustra knows wassup. Too bad the game is fucking something serious with your stepson, but at least you are making the right efforts. My mom knew her sons were all about video games (in fact she was the one who got us into dat shiznit), and she always made an effort to see what kinds of games we were playing, and game magazines we were reading. She never bought the whole "violent video games make kids violent" bullshit cuz she could see for herself that the violent video games she let us play (and that our friends were playing) were not turning us into serial killers and mass murders. My parents always made sure their kids got their schoolwork and chores done before any fun was to be had (whether that was playing video games or running around outside playing sports or chillin' with neighborhood friends).

I kinda feel like MMOs started humans on this whole path of being consumed by a single game. Battle Royale games are just the new mind control drug I guess.

Everyone's brain chemistry is different so different people will respond differently. As mentioned I am opposed to an outright ban. I'm just saying that there is something about this particular game that affects some poeple unusually strongly.

I don't think there is any denying that at this point.
I've heard this nonsense about so many games over the years I've lost count. The fact is some people have un-diagnosed mental disorders that causes them serious addiction problems. If it wasn't this game it would be another, if it wasn't games it would likely manifest as a gambling or drug problem later.
Yeah I was thinking that if people are responding like this to the game, there must be something wrong with them, not the game. However the game could have been designed to take advantage of shit like this. I'm not ruling anything out. It's just very hard for me to accept that ANY video game can cause an addiction.

Blaming Fortnite for this behavior is completely unfair, and this is not behavior that should be brushed off as the result gaming. This is an extreme attempt at emotional manipulation, to the point of self-harm and threatening suicide, and should be addressed through counseling, etc.
I'm no parent so I'm sure as fuck not gonna tell other people how to handle their kids, but it really does sound to me like there are deeper issues not related to the game at all. I'm definitely not a fan of Fortnite but like I said, hard for me to imagine any game being akin to something like heroin or any other harmful, actual drug. Something else is going on here.

Off-topic: I also could never understand how someone can sit in front of a PC or game console at a LAN center or whatever for like 80 hours and then die. How the fuck does that actually happen?! I've read more stories about that type of shit than I ever would've expected to see in my life. After an hour or two of gaming I gotta get up and move around. Don't these people need to fucking go to the bathroom, or get some sleep? Doesn't seem real to me.

Anyways I think this post is long enough. Sorry for rambling on. Just this whole thing about today's kids and games like Fortnite are really fucking hard for my brain to process. Zarathustra's post about his stepson and Fortnite, and what other [H] forum members have said about their kids and this game, just really got to me. Hit me in the chest. I didn't realize things were like that. Good gawd man. What the fuck. I'm in a state of shock and disbelief. I understand a toddler freaking out if you took away their favorite blankey or stuffed animal, but a tween going apeshit because their mom cancelled their WoW account? Naw that's too much. It sounds like some kids don't have a life outside of Fortnite. How is that even possible? Got my mind all a-spinnin'.
 
He needs to call for Instagram, Facebook, snap chat, and Twitter to be banned for the same reason then.
 
I'm no parent so I'm sure as fuck not gonna tell other people how to handle their kids, but it really does sound to me like there are deeper issues not related to the game at all. I'm definitely not a fan of Fortnite but like I said, hard for me to imagine any game being akin to something like heroin or any other harmful, actual drug. Something else is going on here.

It's not behavior that is specific to children or games, which is why I commented what I did. There are plenty of people out there that react with this sort of stuff as a way of manipulating their SO to stay in a relationship, for instance. "If you leave I'll kill myself!" Then the other party relents and stays in a relationship they wanted out of, and the manipulator goes back to normal like it's all good because they got what they wanted. Doing this over Fortnite is a red flag I'd say.
 
Living 50m (~150feet) from an amazing tropical beach when I was growing up I had a pretty big tan. Playing HLDM, TFC and CS from my father's ISDN connection decreased that tan considerably when it came out.
 
I'm not advocating an outright ban, but I don't doubt many game producers have psychologists under their employment whose sole job is to help fine tune these games to be as addictive as possible. Not fun, but addictive (those two things don't necessarily go hand-in-hand). It all seems quite nefarious to me, like that Star Trek TNG episode "The Game".
 
Life is very addicting game. Everything you do affects your health in negative way. I see no way out of this.
 
I'm not sure if I would call for an outright ban, but I definitely believe they designed the game with addiction in mind.

I have separated my tween stepson from the game when he has had too much, and the kicking screaming sobbing, "my life is over" routine is so bad it is unbelievable. I can't imagine a heroin addict is much different.

Reminds me of this (without the self corning, that is just weird)



yeah, that's bad. but comparing internet obsession to the physical affects of opiate withdrawal, no. drug addicts will kill people to get a fix, and other than a few people that already had issues before snapping, the tantrum of a teen is nothing.
 
I am not about banning shit. But if you really believe fortnite (not gaming in general is addicting) you are kidding yourself. I am talking about kids here. Young kids are head over heels for that shit. My nephews personally going crazy over it begging for money to blow over on it lol.

Yea you can raise your kids right, I have seen my newphews get their asses whooped over fortnite lol. But that shit is addictive to kids as it gets. Its like they would go to war with parents over that shit rofl.

This is all true. And yet, it indicates more control must be put in place, and an understanding time with the game is a privilege granted in specific quantities - not the default for how they spend their day.

The fact that it is so utterly addictive means parents must double down on boundaries, and limits. Kids are kids, and are generally not capable of much self-regulation. And sadly, many parents are themselves the product of their parents just sitting them down in front of the TV - so this seems natural.

As someone who has kids aged 3-20, I can only say I have had success with incredibly (shockingly?) firm boundaries, at all times. Playing games is something that happens If And Only If:
A) All homework is done
B) All chores are done
C) You haven't pissed me off recently (In Civilization terms, this is the "Despot" government. Sorry.)
D) I don't feel this is some weird addiction. If I do, off it goes for a few days.
E) Even with all the above, there are going to be limits of a couple hours.
F) See rule C. I'm not here to be a buddy, I'm trying to launch working adults.

I'm not implying that is easy, because I deal with all manner of kid-angst for the above. But it is what it is, and over time, it lessens. Known boundaries become known as non-negotiable. If they see a crack of weakness, they'd strike endlessly. So - no cracks. Just consistent rules.

Then they go to bed, and I go back to a nice Zinfandel and reading [H] or watch zombies eating people.
 
As long as he's not talking about banning Civ, we're ok. If he takes away my Civ.... oooooh we're gonna have a problem, Harry.

I think the teenage equivalent of this for me was the C64... I could play Ultima 3 and 4 for days straight. But I also liked to get out of the house for fresh air and dirt weed.

Had Civ been a thing when I was that age, it would have been that instead of Ultima. (that dates me pretty well, Civ 1 came out in 1992 I think, I had moved on to PC by then. I'm old.)
 
We should listen and do as he says. Politicians, royal families, and the ultra rich know what is best for us peasants.


the whole bunch can sit on it and rotate.i dont need a pack of idiots telling me how to live.
 
As long as he's not talking about banning Civ, we're ok. If he takes away my Civ.... oooooh we're gonna have a problem, Harry.

I think the teenage equivalent of this for me was the C64... I could play Ultima 3 and 4 for days straight. But I also liked to get out of the house for fresh air and dirt weed.

Had Civ been a thing when I was that age, it would have been that instead of Ultima. (that dates me pretty well, Civ 1 came out in 1992 I think, I had moved on to PC by then. I'm old.)

I was a total Civ addict from 1991 on.

I never owned a C64 Sadly, but many of my friends did
 
As long as he's not talking about banning Civ, we're ok. If he takes away my Civ.... oooooh we're gonna have a problem, Harry.

I think the teenage equivalent of this for me was the C64... I could play Ultima 3 and 4 for days straight. But I also liked to get out of the house for fresh air and dirt weed.

Had Civ been a thing when I was that age, it would have been that instead of Ultima. (that dates me pretty well, Civ 1 came out in 1992 I think, I had moved on to PC by then. I'm old.)

That doesn't make you old.

No. No. No it doesn't. Not old. Right? No, not old.

Shit.
 
While I agree with the comments re: the importance of setting boundaries for gaming or screen time, it's always annoying to hear rich fuckers like this lecture others on parenting, when they have hired staff who raise their kids and enforce all these rules for them. It's similar to an article a while back that interviewed a bunch of executives in the tech industry who said they never let their kids use any of the products that they made millions/billions peddling to all our children. Easy for them to say when they hire nannies to raise their kids and deal with that shit for them.

Anyone with kids knows boundaries over screen time is really hard and takes a lot of work and can suck you dry emotionally. It's absolutely important but the moralizing and lecturing from "our betters" like Prince Fuckface here just really rubs me the wrong way. /rant.
 
Being a parent is not about "helicoptering" around the kids all day making every decision for them. It is about providing them the tools to make good decisions themselves. The problem is that you are fighting this battle against a whole bunch of outside influences. You are fighting a losing battle if you think you can control all of those influences forever, and if you
Also, I don't try to lie to myself about my own childhood. I would spend the night at friends' houses and we would stay up until midnight playing NES/SNES. I did plenty of other things that were probably not the best. I was able to think for myself and eventually realize some of that stuff was not beneficial to getting me where I wanted to be.

We could play NES/SNES for long periods when we were kids, but some of these games nowadays are definitely far more advanced when it comes to creating a dependence, and that need for instant gratification. The funniest part to me is that a year from now, the game could be gone/no longer supported. Everything those kids spent money on and put hours grinding into getting could be gone. But it is all about getting everything, and that social aspect of being able to show/brag on that. Every kid nowadays seems to think they could be a Youtube star.

i raised two kids.
i dont think i can control all those influences.
I KNOW i can. because i did it. twice
 
As long as he's not talking about banning Civ, we're ok. If he takes away my Civ.... oooooh we're gonna have a problem, Harry.

I think the teenage equivalent of this for me was the C64... I could play Ultima 3 and 4 for days straight. But I also liked to get out of the house for fresh air and dirt weed.

Had Civ been a thing when I was that age, it would have been that instead of Ultima. (that dates me pretty well, Civ 1 came out in 1992 I think, I had moved on to PC by then. I'm old.)
I still remember the 1st time I played Civ 1 at one point I looked out the window and the sun was coming up, I was like holy **** wtf just happened?
 
I still remember the 1st time I played Civ 1 at one point I looked out the window and the sun was coming up, I was like holy **** wtf just happened?

HAHA have had many moments like that with Civ. I remember it being like 3am, had to work the next morning... just one more turn. 5am... just one more turn, might as well just stay awake at this point. 6am... called in sick to work...
 
I just let my kid play the same games over and over and over. Never buy new ones. He gets sick bored of them and plays outside.

Ha! This is what I did with my kids when they were growing up. They would play the same shit for months than get burned out.

Eventually they would come to me and beg to play one of my "old good" games, then get bored and go ride their bikes. Nothing but f2p games after that. They had the attention span of a trout.
 
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