September 2017. Everyone’s talking about it. Parents and children. The young and old. Everywhere you go You are sure to hear this one word that has managed to grab the world by storm. It's Fortnite. The free to play battle royale that took the gaming genre and raised it high above other sports. But it is not all sunshine and daises. The controversy raised around it is starting to shadow ts former glory. Parents and protesting for the shutdown of the entire game. A child in primary to a person in university where all spending hours in front screens, staring at pixels instead of revising for the trigonometry exam they had tomorrow. But what are really the pros and cons of gaming?
Let's begin by saying that gaming is often displayed in a negative attitude with no prominent advantages but there are clear studies done to disprove this. A study done by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) showed that there were clear differences in empathy, literacy and creativity between those who did play games and those who didn’t. Also, gaming was viewed as a method of stress relief, which is especially needed during those difficult exam weeks. 65.2% in the study said that as part of playing games, they feel like they can write creative pieces of fiction monthly.
Gaming also has its negative attributes. There are certain problems caused by gaming but most of these only happen if gaming like anything else is not controlled/ in moderation. A gaming addiction is nothing but a downwards spiral. It begins by affecting yourself with lack of hygiene, insomnia and gaming injuries. As this behavior further progresses it becomes serious and starts affecting those around them with relationship and communication issues or loss of education opportunities.
Gaming, if done in moderation, is a great activity to do but if it is not controlled, it will most likely lead o disastrous consequences.
