Ever since Fortnite and 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 to Fortnite being 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 impact Fortnite may have on kids' mental health, the game could have some benefits as well.
Computers in Human Behavior has 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 played Fortnite, categorized in the study as a violent video game, while others played pinball, categorized as a neutral game. Some of the students played with partners and others played solo.
As explained by PsyPost, the goal of the study was to see if Fortnite actually 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 played Fortnite with a partner and those who played Fortnite alone were 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 playing Fortnite can 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 playing Fortnite regularly. According to the study, all 845 students that participated were already playing Fortnite in their free time. This could mean that they simply enjoyed playing Fortnite more 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 using Fortnite's default skins, so the link between Fortnite, video games in general, and prosocial behavior is definitely complex.
More research will need to be done in regards to Fortnite promoting prosocial behavior in kids, as well as more research into violent video games and their impact on mental health.
Fortnite is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Computers in Human Behavior (via PsyPost)