Fortnite Cited in More Than 200 U.K. Divorce Proceedings
By Zac Cameron ·
The popular game may not be quite as popular with some couples, as divorce proceedings begin to include Fortnite as a major reason for separation.
It seems that not everyone out there is getting their Victory Royale’s, with an increase in U.K. divorce proceedings citing Fortnite as a major reason for separation. Reported by Divorce Online last week, it seems that since January first, 2018, more than 200 divorce petitions have cited Fortnite and other online games as a major contributor to divorce.
“These numbers equate to roughly 5 percent of the 4,665 petitions we have handled since the beginning of the year and as one of the largest filers of divorce petitions in the U.K. is a pretty good indicator,” a representative from Divorce Online stated. “Addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling have often been cited as reasons for relationship breakdowns but the dawn of the digital revolution has introduced new addictions.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this year announced that it would begin formally recognizing gaming addiction as a mental health condition, characterizing it as “Impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”
It seems that much like other addictions, an inability to control the amount of video games played can be a factor in divorce rates, with that number surely set to increase as time goes on. At the end of the day, it appears as though it’s not just kids and teens who are playing Fortnite a bit too much.