Parents who let their kids play regularly seem to have the same concerns as those who donвЂ™t, apart from concerns about exposure to violent themes (mentioned by 35% of parents whose kids donвЂ™t regularly play vs. Other primary concerns include exposure to violent themes (30%) and exposure to age-inappropriate language (29%), both of which are more pronounced among parents of younger children. What are parents concerned about? The top concern for nearly two out of five parents is lack of physical activity (39%). Parents seem to have a heightened awareness and sensitivity to the impact these survival games have on their kidsвЂ™ well-being, yet they continue to let them play. Perhaps more surprising is that parents of kids who regularly play the games are equally as concerned as parents of kids who donвЂ™t play. Not surprisingly, parents with younger children (12 or younger) are more concerned (60% concerned) than parents of teenagers (51%). How concerned are parents about school-aged children playing these games? Our Caravan survey shows a majority (56%) are indeed concerned (somewhat or very). While the debate about the pros and cons of the kill or be killed online gaming genre continues, we dug into the topic to better understand what parents and kids think. But fear not, even though the bulk of the psychological research has focused on the negative impact of playing video games, thereвЂ™s a growing body of research that highlights the benefits. вЂњThereвЂ™s no way IвЂ™ve been playing for 2 hours!!! CвЂ™mon!! I just started!!вЂќ Parents trade вЂwarвЂ™ stories about how tempers escalate when kids are told their gaming time is up. Worries of addiction, truancy, sleep disorders, predation, depression, and social isolation among other issues are common. Where is the benefit of having it in your household?вЂќ Even Prince Harry spoke out against Fortnite saying, вЂњIt shouldnвЂ™t be allowed. Ferris BuellerвЂ™s Day Off?ДЄs the Fortnite and Apex Legends craze accelerates (and who knows what will be next), parents, school administrators, and psychologists weigh in on the impact these games have on kidsвЂ™ health and well-being. Various sources estimate that more than 200 million globally are playing Fortnite and more than 50 million are playing Apex Legends. While itвЂ™s difficult to find exact estimates on the current number of players, one thing is certainвЂ¦battle royale games attract millions of young players a month and have even captured the attention of modern media brands like Netflix who see them vying for the same share of limited attention. The rapid growth in popularity of these survival games is enough to rattle the nerves of most parents, myself included! One can only marvel at how the most recent release of Apex Legends reportedly reached 10 million players in 3 days, 25 million in its 1st week, and 50 million in the first month. Electronic Arts followed suit with its вЂњFortnite killerвЂќ (no pun intended), Apex Legends, released in Feb 2019. Its most popular title, Fortnite: Battle Royale, launched in Mar 2018. The game that fueled the rise in popularity of the battle royale genre, Epic GamesвЂ™ Fortnite: Save the World, first launched in July 2017. The percentage rises to 52% when filtering on households with kids between the ages of 13-17 years. The last player or team standing wins a round.ДЄccording to a recent Engine CARAVAN survey, 41% of parents with school-age children have kids who regularly (at least monthly) play battle royale games. We tapped into EngineвЂ™s Cassandra, CARAVAN Omnibus and Expert Network teams to start digging in.Д«attle royale games are a genre of online video survival games presented in a kill or be killed competition with several or hundreds of other players. Missed it? Just search for вЂњFortnite Floss DanceвЂќ on YouTube.ДЄs researchers, and parents, we were curious to understand the battle royale phenomenon, its place in popular culture, what parents think about it and what strategies they use to keep their kids вЂњin checkвЂќ. If youвЂ™re a parent of tweens and teens, especially boys, youвЂ™ve probably experienced firsthand the frenzy around online games like Fortnite Battle Royale and Apex Legends (aka, online player-versus-player вЂњbattle royaleвЂќ games).

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