Prince Harry has weighed in on the the gaming phenomenon that is Fortnite, and he has an extreme take.
During a visit to a YMCA in West London, the Duke of Sussex was speaking to mental health experts about the effects of social media and violent video games. Obviously this is a serious and vital topic of discussion, and both social media and addictive video games are worthy of criticism.
However one comment made by Prince Harry about Fortnite specifically doesn’t exactly scream ‘realistic’.
“It’s like waiting for the damage to be done and kids turning up on your doorsteps and families being broken. That game shouldn’t be allowed.” He said.
I don't want my kids addicted to Fortnite but equally I don't want to be lectured by a prince with no experience of children, and whose future children will be able to knock about the palace gardens instead of sitting inside playing videogames https://t.co/JNlki7Yl5J
— Anita Singh (@anitathetweeter) April 4, 2019
“Where is the benefit of having that game in your household?” He continued. “It’s created to addict, an addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible.”
sounds like someone sucks at Fortnite https://t.co/9w3vwr5fAx
— Casey Kolderup (@ckolderup) April 4, 2019
Jokes aside, it’s true that the obsession with Fortnite is causing problems -especially for young people. But banning everything that can cause potential harm by overuse is a slippery slope you can’t realistically justify going down.
The ‘solution’ doesn’t acknowledge that if you ban Fortnite, another battle royale game will just pop up to take its place (@ApexLegends).
Plus, when it comes down to it, parental responsibility to regulate game play needs to come into the conversation and alleviate some of the blame off the product itself.
The comment seems out of touch and unproductive as far as solutions go.
The money spent on his fucking wedding could have sent every child in the UK on holiday for a fortnite. https://t.co/y7gPihEOx9
— THE PYRAMID (@robertflorence) April 4, 2019
The relationship between ourselves, social media, games, and our mental health, is an important one to have, but we need realistic solutions in order to actually progress.