The adult casualties of Fortnite
HIT: Fortnite fever has gripped the nation amid concerns over addictive play CONTROVERSIAL game Fortnite is causing suffering to parents too as they are hit by addiction or abuse from other players.
It emerged last week a girl of nine is in therapy after getting so hooked she played all night and would wet herself rather than go to the loo.
Dad-of-two Lee Harmer, 23, has now revealed he spiralled into drug abuse and almost lost his family after getting hooked.
He was snapped back into reality when he realised his six-year-old girl was getting addicted too, and wife Sarah took the kids and moved to her mum’s
Lee said: “It was only when I saw my child obsessed with playing and watching others play I realised I had to do something.
“It made me an absent parent and set a dangerous example to a child. It was completely addictive.
“I’d go to bed at 11pm, then creep down and play.
“To wake me up, I started having a line of cocaine. It’s amazing I didn’t get sacked at work, I was almost unable to function.” The family is now reunited and Lee, an assistant retail manager from Blackpool, is in counselling.
Addiction therapist Steve Pope said: “As parents it is our job not only to protect our children but to set an example to them also. But if a parent is in the grip of an addiction it becomes almost impossible for them to shield their children.
“There are people who can play these games without becoming addicted if they place strict time limits on playing time and frequency.
“But the nature of the game can make this difficult.”
Dad-to-be Lee Morgan quit Fortnite after an online row ended in a player telling him he hoped his children get a “horrific disease”.
The 30-year-old, of Cannock, West Mids, who admits he played for hours on end, said: “I’ve got a kid on the way in October. It made me want to get out of that world.”
Lee added of Fortnite: “It’s addictive, just like gambling.” User Lee Morgan