Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Fortnite made me a suicidal drug addict
Dad saves his son, 17, from death plunge after he gets hooked on online craze
A BOY’S obsession with video game Fortnite ruined his life and drove him to a suicide bid.
His dad had to physically stop him from jumping to his death. Carl Thompson, 17, from Preston, said: “Fortnite made me a suicidal, thieving, lying drug addict.”
WEEPING and trembling, teenager Carl climbed to the ledge of his third-floor bedroom window and prepared to leap to his death.
The suicide attempt was the result of his addiction to video game Fortnite, which had left his life in tatters only a few months after he started playing it.
He was hooked on speed, which he was taking so he could play through the night, and he hardly ate or slept.
Carl, 17, said: “I was doing all-nighters three or four nights a week. And when I hadn’t slept, I would just take more speed and carry on.
“I was a complete state, miserable and unable to function... kept up by the speed and not eating at all.”
Carl, who spent almost all of his time on Fortnite, often in 12-hour stints, felt suicide was the only way to escape the mess he was in. By chance, his dad saw him as he was about to jump and pulled him to safety.
Carl is now having treatment to help him deal with his issues.
He is speaking out to deter others from following in his footsteps.
He said: “Fortnite turned me into a suicidal, thieving, lying drug addict.
“I want to warn kids or parents how the game sucks you in far, far worse than any 18-rated game I’ve played. The idea that young kids are playing this is terrifying.”
Fortnite has attracted 125 million players since its launch a year ago.
The survival game, played online and on Xbox and Nintendo consoles, has an age rating of 12. It is predicted to make £15billion next year.
Meanwhile, figures show more than 5,000 people – 30% of them children – tried to get help for gaming addictions over the past year, a 167% rise.
Carl’s mum Carol, 38, said: “I’m petrified how many kids will get addicted to this game this summer.
“I urge every parent to keep their gaming console out of bounds at night and to spot the warning signs. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor... this game sucks you in and ruins lives.”
Carl, from Preston, Lancs, previously played addictive games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto but found time to study and play sport. But it was different when he started playing Fortnite in November, when he was 16. He said: “The more battles you win, the more you want to keep playing. “Each time you’re killed you’re automatically dropped back into the battle zone, so it’s like an endless loop, and all
you want is to move up the rankings for more rewards and better status.”
Carl soon began being absent from college. He stopped playing sport and stole from his parents to pay for the game’s latest weapons and upgrades.
He said: “I was exhausted doing allnighters, so my mates said I should try playing with amphetamines. I’ve always been anti-drugs, but all I wanted to do was play the game more, and this seemed the only way.”
Talking about how Fortnite changed his life, he added: “One morning I urinated in a bottle by my desk and drank from another bottle.”
Suffering comedowns from the drugs, he took speed to get back up.
It all got too much one night in April. He said: “I just had to escape this existence, and the only way I knew how was to kill myself.
“I climbed out of my bedroom window and looked down, wanting to end it all. I was shaking and crying. Before I could jump I felt a hand grab my neck and arm and yank me back.
“My dad had heard the window open, came to see what was going on, and rushed to grab me. In the room I started hitting him, screaming to let me go, but he wouldn’t.
“My mum came running in, watching dad and me wrestle on the floor. My mum was screaming, I was crying, it was complete chaos.”
Dad Rob, 39, says: “The change in Carl over the past year is like a nightmare. We feel ashamed that as good parents it happened on our watch.” Carol said: “We honestly had no idea any of this was going on until the night Carl tried to kill himself.
“Fortnite appears to be so inoffensive and fun that it lures you in.”
Carl’s parents called in counsellor Steve Pope and the lad’s life is getting back on track. Carl said: “All I cared about was Fortnite.
“It’s almost impossible to describe how quickly it happened, the bubble I was in, how my old life felt like a dream. I’m back playing cricket again now and studying for exams.”
US firm Epic Games, which created Fortnite, declined to comment.
The game, in which players can compete live with pals and strangers from across the world in a bid to be the last to survive on an island, has many young fans and celeb admirers such as England footballer Dele Alli.
The names of Carl and his parents have been changed at their request.
www.stevepopeassociates.co.uk