*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).
Capitalizing on the NFT hype while riding the rush to all things '90s, tarantino announced earlier this month a planned sale of NFTs based off his hand-written, original script of 'Pulp Fiction.' Days after the announcement, the studio that produced the iconic film, Miramax, filed suit against Tarentino. Kal Raustiala, Professor of comparative and international law at UCA joins Cheddar News.
Sam Burd, president of Dell Technologies Client Solutions Group, joined Cheddar to talk about the firm's Q3 earnings beat and what consumers can expect from the tech company in the future. He noted a return to offices alongside the overall change to how people work as sources for the earnings beat. Burd also discussed how the company has been able to navigate the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage.
Sarav Arunachalam, air pollution scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins Cheddar Climate, where he discusses what he needs to happen when it comes to EV production on a global level to help reduce the effects of climate change.
In recent years, extreme weather events like flooding and wildfires have become more frequent, and more severe - and scientists say global warming is to blame. Climate crises could leave people in need of help, and that's where Global Rescue steps in. The crisis response firm employs former Navy Seals and Army Rangers to rescue travelers from climate-related emergencies. Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Cloud-based AI-powered writing assistant Grammarly recently raised $200 million in a funding round that values the company at $13 billion. The funding will be used to help Grammarly achieve its goal of becoming more ubiquitous, as the company says it wants to be the go-to writing assistant for wherever people type. Grammarly also says it aims to solve what it calls one of the most critical problems facing people and businesses today -- ineffective communication. Grammarly global head of product Rahul Roy-Chowdhury joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
