Overview of my Story
I chose to research and create a data story focusing on the relationships between the game Fortnite and the world of sports. The story will trace and tell how the introduction and rise of Fortnite has resulted in an evident nation-wide drop in sports activity and commitment. This story will be supported with evidence revealing the distracting nature of Fortnite, its addictive nature, and the strong grip it has on the sporting world and players in general. I will find visual evidence to support the story by looking at the search rates of Fortnite versus the same of sports in general and some specific ones at different periods of time. I chose this topic because I both play Fortnite (fairly extensively), and play a sport at Acalanes. I have noticed that they clash with each other commitment-wise because I generaly want to prioritize Fortnite over any stretching or cardio I have to do at home for Cross Country. Knowing this I wanted to look deeper and see if the rest of the country could relate to what I notice in my experience. Also it is worth noting that this topic applies to a huge amount of people - gamers, athletes, and sports fans in general that may be interested in the game. This further prompted me to explore the topic and build a story around it.
Article #1 Link 1.
Summary:
This article discusses how Fortnite is a concern for many sports teams, due to players being addicted to it and therefore not focusing more on the sport. It is mentioned how some players would never be drafted into the pros, simply because of their Fortnite habits alone. Especially for the younger players of a team this is an issue, as they are more affected and drawn to the game. They also don't necessarily recognize the potential consequences of trying to be a serious athlete while also spending hours playing Fortnite. The article also discusses the concerns of Coaches on professional teams, mentioning how they are worried because Fortnite likely prevents them from getting the many hours of sleep they need to compete. Also how the game interferes with their training time too, and could consequentially affect their performance.
Article#2 Link 2.
Summary:
This article talks mainly about how Fortnite's extreme popularity has in a few ways "spilled" over into the world of sports. For example, it mentiones how the Houston Astros, along with many professional soccer teams, have passionately taken up Fortnite dances and perform them while they play their sport. The article furthermore shows how strong Fortnite's hold is on the sporting world by mentioning how custom pairs of Fortnite Nike sports shoes are being adopted by players across many sports. It continues to describe how professional athletes are potentially distracted by the game, as it reveals several who have YouTube channels specifically devoted to Fortnite. Similarly, the second half of the article focues more on the potential consequences of Fortnite and professional sports being so closely connected. For example it refers and alludes to players potentially being distracted from their sport, due to fortnite, or even face physical consequences because of frequent Fortnite gameplay.
Article#3 Link 3.
Summary:
This third article starts by discussing and overviewing Fortnite's extreme popularity on a global scale, especially among middle and highschool students, along with many young adults. It continues by mentioning several factors of the game, such as its multiplayer aspect, and several others that the article cites as being why the game is so fun. However, it follows by stating how the game uses such aspects to draw in players and purposefully turn them into addicts. In the last main section of the article, it speaks directly to parents, giving them ways to set "positive" limits on their kids to limit their gameplay. In this section it discusses also how parents should make it a focus to set limits in order to get their kids outside and doing "physical activity" among other productive things, while also compromising with them.