*By Max Godnick*
Some child psychologists are starting to see young patients struggling with the effects of playing too much Fortnite, the apocalyptic survival video game played by more than 125 million people since it launched last summer.
"They are seeing kids who are coming in, their parents are concerned, they're having a lot of trouble putting the game down," Sara Miller, the health editor at Live Science, said in an interview with Cheddar about some anecdotal reports from mental health professionals.
Miller said some of the child psychologists who spoke to Live Science [described](https://www.livescience.com/62796-fortnite-addiction-therapy.html) children developing an addiction to the battle royale-style game from Epic Games. One psychologist told Live Science that parents should cap their children's Fortnite gameplay at no more than six hours a week.
Children obsessively playing video games is not a new phenomenon, but there may be some aspects of Fortnite that have a particularly strong pull on young gamers. The game's colorful cartoonish aesthetic obscures its violent goal ー kill everyone. It's relatively short rounds (about 20 minutes) keep gamers coming back for more. "It's like pulling a slot machine," said Miller.
Fortnite's popularity can also be attributed to its accessibility: It is available on XBox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, iOS, and Nintendo's Switch. It's also free.
"That makes the barrier of entry really, really low," said Miller.
Some Fortnite proponents said the game is potentially beneficial to young gamers' development by helping them figure out how to construct solutions to unexpected problems. Users can build walls and other structures for cover during firefights. Microsoft leveraged similar world-building tactics for learning purposes when it launched Minecraft: Education Edition in 2016.
Miller says constructing barriers to protect from grenade launchers is no substitute for actual social interaction.
"Nothing really beats going out and making eye contact with people and interacting with them in person," she said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/is-fortnite-sending-kids-to-therapy).
Bitcoin plunged below the $40,000 mark on Monday, hitting its lowest price since September. The world's most valuable cryptocurrency has had months of hot and cold streaks, and the latest drop now has investors wondering just what 2022 will have in store for bitcoin and the crypto space as a whole. Ben McMillan, CIO at IDX Digital Assets, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss.
You could be seeing more electric delivery vans on the road soon. Walmart and FedEx have inked deals with GM's all-electric brand BrightDrop to add thousands of vehicles to their fleets. Walmart has reserved 5,000 vans for the first time, while FedEx is expanding an initial order of 500 vehicles. Michael Zimmerman, partner and head of logistics at Kearney, joined Cheddar to discuss what this means for the electric vehicle market moving forward.
After nearly a century, General Motors is no longer the top-selling automaker in America. Toyota has dethroned the long-reigning champ to become the leader in U.S. auto sales for the first time, and the first non-domestic automaker to take that title. The Japanese automaker outsold GM by about 114,000 vehicles, or 5% more, in 2021. Al Root, senior writer for Barron's, joined Cheddar to discuss the meaning behind these numbers.
This year's worldwide semiconductor shortage limited the supply of everything from new cars to smart phones.
Looking ahead, several experts in the chip industry expect the shortage to continue deep into 2022, and maybe even 2023. Syed Alam, Accenture's Global Semiconductor Lead, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating roughly 580,000 Tesla vehicles due to their front touch screen 'passenger play' gaming feature amid concerns over possible distracted driving. The investigation covers Tesla models ranging from the years 2017-2022. Brian Moody, Executive Editor at Autotrader, joined Cheddar Movers for more.
After a two-week delay of 5G deployment at airports due to the airline industry's claims it will cause "catastrophic disruption," AT&T and Verizon are set to roll out the service on January 19. Michael Boyd, CEO of aviation consultancy Boyd Group International, joined Cheddar to discuss the concerns being voiced by the airlines. "If the airline industry thinks it's going to be something to disrupt our system or impair safety, it shouldn't roll out at all, period," Boyd said, noting that the telecom giants should rethink the activation over safety and security.
