Gamers have spent a total of 10.4 million years playing Fortnite, according to new research from ... [+] retailer GAME. AFP via Getty Images

Gamers have spent the equivalent of over 10.4 million years playing Fortnite, according to a new report from video game retailer GAME. The report also found that gamers have spent a total of 19.2 million cumulative years playing the top ten online games, with World of Warcraft, Overwatch and GTA 5 taking the second, third and fourth spots.

GAME’s report highlights just how much time people devote to playing video games, with Fortnite’s 10.4 million years equalling roughly 2.083 billion days. Assuming that Fortnite has around 12.3 million regular players (as indicated by participants in a recent online event), this would mean that the ‘average’ Fortnite player has spent the equivalent of about 310 days playing the game.

Gamers have spent a total of 3.8 billion days, or 10.4 million years, playing Fortnite. GAME

Fortnite is only one game, and other research indicates that people dedicate a large amount of time to playing other titles as well.

In June, UK broadband provider Hyperoptic conducted a survey which found that the average gamer spends three years of his or her life playing games online.

This survey also found that, because of coronavirus-related lockdowns, the average time spent playing online each week had increased from eight hours to ten and a half hours. Gamers also spend a total of £15,924 (c. $20,540) on gaming accessories, downloads and micro-transactions over their adult lifetimes.

"It’s clear from the research just how passionate and dedicated gamers are to their hobby, reflected by the time and money spent on it," said Hyperoptic’s MD of ISP, Charles Davies.

Earlier research shows that time spent playing video games had also been rising prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The State of Online Gaming 2019 report, from American CDN service provider Limelight, found that gaming time among individuals (who play at least once a week) had increased by 19.3% between 2018 and 2019.

Every age group had increased the amount of time it spends playing games each week, with the average for all age groups rising to 7.11 hours.

Limelight Networks

Limelight’s 2020 report also found that "binge-gaming is on the rise." Gamers worldwide reported that their average longest consecutive playing session lasted for four hours and 36 minutes, a 7% increase compared 2019.

It’s clear that massive amounts of time–and money–are handed over to the video game industry. What isn’t clear is how healthy this all is.

On a personal, developmental, and existential level, it’s arguable that most gamers may be able to find something ‘better’ to do with their lives. Given that we already spend on average 33 years in bed, as well as 14 years at work (not to mention our years at school), it may not be the best possible use of the remaining time to spend around three years (or more) playing video games. Maybe we could spend more time socialising in-person with other people, more time engaging in volunteer and charity work, or more time being creative, all of which have been shown by research to improve personal wellbeing.

Then there’s the collective opportunity cost of spending 10.4 million cumulative years playing a video game. Imagine if all (or only 50%) of that aggregated time had been spent on political participation and activism. Imagine if every gamer who cared about, say, global warming or racial/gender/income inequality had campaigned for their views instead of spending all of those years shooting each other.

Of course, people need to spend time relaxing as well as doing things that are ‘constructive’ or ‘meaningful.’ But when the world seems to be becoming more unstable with every passing year, it seems a shame that we spend every passing year playing more video games.

Source: Forbes

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