Now that Fortnite has picked up an almost a cult like following, it has divided the internet into a highly polarized user base, one that intensely advocates for the game, and the other which screams along an antagonistic narrative, including terms such as video game violence, gaming addiction and its negative effects on students. This trend kicked off mainly in primary schools in Australia where teachers have begun sending letters about the game to parents.

A spokesperson for Bondi Beach public in Sydney told parents that they, “observed many negative effects of this game, particularly on boys. “There has been a noticeable change in some behaviors in the classroom and in the playground that are directly linked to Fortnite.”

Fortnite features a large collection of weapons with which players can kill others to become the ‘last man standing’. The game deploys a free to play business model, something which has played to their success and they currently have more than 3.4 million concurrent players who regularly tune into attempt becoming the ‘last man standing’.

A concerned professor from the University of Sydney, Dr Marcus Carter says, “The media panic around Fortnite is indicative of tensions that exist between parents, children and any new media. When kids deviate from what is considered the norm, parents become concerned and worried.” 

He suggests that parents should first play Fortnite with their children before coming to such ‘excessive’ conclusions. “I say the best thing to do is to play Fortnite with them. Turn it into something that you share with your child.” The professor clearly knows what he’s talking about.

Indeed one only needs to tune into news media channels where anchors can be found generating fear among the laity about the seemingly ‘negative’ effects of Fortnite. It is important to understand that Fortnite – and to some extent, PUBG – has become the world’s latest obsession. The fact that they have been ported over to mobile phones doesn’t help things for schools either.

Many schools have tried to put a stop to it by banning mobile phones altogether, but one needs only take a cursory glance at the latest social media posts to realize that nothing can stand in the way of students from ruthlessly massacring each other’s avatars online. The problem has become so big that schools have reported having Wi-Fi issues, after all, the race for becoming the last player standing does require quite a strong internet connection. Schools are not happy, parents doubly so.

But given how culturally tied Fortnite has become with social media, its usage won’t be stopped anytime soon. One can liken the phenomenon of Fortnite and PUBG to that of Pokemon Go, where students began getting obsessed over increasing their roster of Pokemon, “gotta catch em all”. Eventually that trend trailed off and its popularity became dormant. It will just be a matter of time before Fortnite and PUBG experience the same. But until then, teachers and parents alike will be spewing out exaggerative statements about Fortnite. To be honest with you, this isn’t the first time a student sneaked a video game into the classroom, and it won’t be the last.