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[Polygon] Fortnite is free, but kids are getting bullied into spending money
- Thread starter dex3108
- Start date
Thanks for posting this, it's a brilliant piece and Folding Ideas is a brilliant channel.
The social stratification and pressure to spend are completely intentional aspects of the game.
At this point, the best cost effective solution is to get better at the game than the bullies so they start going to you for advice.
You can't blame it solely on Fortnight, true, but the whole game is so laser focused to encourage this. It takes the concept of the '80s kids TV shows being commissioned purely to sell toys to a whole new level.
I remember talking to a woman at work about her two young kids and she said the biggest problem she felt with imposing restrictions, rules, etc on the kids was that the moment they leave your house and go to school or hang out with friends they're in an environment that contradicts a lot of what you're trying to teach them. "Little Timmy's mum lets him do X,Y,Z, why can't I"?
I get that, and I am in part a product of that myself. But many GAAS games like Fortnite just aren't built to be enjoyed with moderation. They want you to play for as much as possible.
Hold the companies responsible, not the kids.
Paying for the battle pass isn't the issue, needing to constantly play the game lest you fall behind on the loot is. You can say 'I don't care, I don't want all the skins, I just play for fun', but the game is still engineered to target and nourish this addictive behavior. Kids are extremely vulnerable to this.
But it's the same with any public environment. My kids never threw crazy tantrums til they went to preschool and saw other kids doing it. We just had to sit them down and talk to them about things like that which is hard for two 3 year olds to understand but they do get it somewhat And we keep repeating to them on how to act and how not to act and they started to repeat it back to us.
I guess my point is there is always influences out there and you have to put it a little effort if you want your kids to put in effort to be better people.
Heaven forbid you got the wrong Starter Jacket in my middle school.
I would hold the parents responsible. It it isn't Fortnite it's something else. Something I can personally attest to. That and a company can't forced parents to give their kids their credit cards.
That and Fornite has a T rating:
TEEN
Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language
Fortnite is meant to be played by pre-teens and up, not people who just got out of grade school. That and games are meant to be addicting, like trying to collect all the trophies and music in Smash Brothers.
Yeah that's what it refers to, a player with no skin, but the way my friends use it they correlate that to mean "noob" or whatever.
fascinating video and a reminder that these companies are not your friends. They are teams using complex marketing tools, analytics, and psychological calculations & strategies to separate you from your money and sell access to YOU to advertisers. Nothing you see is by happenstance. No experience by happy accident.
Your value begins and ends with the likelihood that you will convert into a fresh whale and they are very good at it. The sooner people aborb that truth, the better decisions people can begin to make. So long as we continue to treat corporations and their twitter feeds like they're cute friends down the street, people will continue to get fucked.
Reminds me of Pokemon cards when I was a kid. Had to keep buying boosters to try and get that Charizard holo!
That will happen for literally everything. Kids will ALWAYS compare and complain, no matter how rich/poor, to their friends and will laser focus on what someone else has/is doing, compared to who isn't.
I promise you, man. I have kids and I'm a teacher who works with teenagers. Instead of trying to avoid those conservations, adults need to know that they WILL happen and embrace them as an opportunity to speak with children and teach them about life.
Hell, we know adults do the same thing. Why are we talking like this is a kid problem. Adults buy the newest phones and cars because their peer group as them. We're no better than children in chasing after what other people have. It's human nature. We should acknowledge this, recognize it in our lives, and learn and grow from it.
Nah, I didn't ever experience it either. We all shared whatever toys/cards/game boys we had.
Man parents really shouldn't let their kids go wild with the credit card, of course little timmy is gonna brag about his skins if Karen gave him her mastercard, then other kids beg their parents so they can be as cool as little timmy, the cycle continues & Tim Sweeny buys a new boat.
I wiped that Fortnite filth from my kids' computers. They only played it occasionally anyway (never spent money on it) and they understand that Epic is a garbage company with a delusional billionaire at the helm.
This should not matter. I can afford to buy skins but i dont. And its perfectly within reason parents dont want their kids to spend money on that either.
Hold the companies responsible for what? Bullying? Kids will be bullied for anything. It's ridiculous to act high and mighty like Fortnite is the cause of this, fortnite is just a part of a gross 'tradition' among kids going back for literally forever.
His choice. He no longer enjoyed the constant peer pressure to have cool skins. He is still in partychat with his friends playing fortnite, while he is playing other games.
He said 'instead of spending 500 euros on one game he could have bought many different games'
It is not a treadmill he wants to engage with.
Also, yes, we don't allow him to spend his money on skins. He can only use his ingame earned v-bucks and he is only allowed to play a limited amount each day so...
Yup, and it isn't just "kids", either -- I've got near-adult-aged children who do similar stuff. And the only answer I can always give is "That's nice, but it's my responsibility to take care of you, so you need to follow my rules. If Timmy's mum wants to adopt you, have her give me a call." There's no way as a parent that you can compete with the other 99-plus-other parents out there, especially when the kids can pick and choose which ones to compare against.
It's true. My nephew is was making fun of me for being a default. Lol. As soon as his parents buy him more skins my son starts bugging me for skins. He doesn't even care for the game anymore but just plays it because it's the game every kid plays.
I'm not blaming fortnite though.
I'm not blaming fortnite though.
Ya apparently that's a thing too. My nephew was telling me that the other day.
Reposting this for the "lol just like Pokemon cards" and "kids are just like this" people.
Get some perspective. The world isn't the same as when you were a kid.
Totally. It's absolutely nothing alike.
I gave my half brother (he is 9) my PS4 as it never got used. My email is still connected to it, so I get transaction emails every time he buys something. No joke, he has easily spent about $1000 on the game in the last year...its sick
There is no lever to pull, no loot boxes to open, no great reward for buying something other than just having the thing.
If your definition of a skinner box is 'you can spend money and you might spend more money in the future' then fucking buying clothes is a skinner box.
There's no fancy animation to celebrate what you did, or rush of dopamine as you gamble for something cool. It's actually VERY much the same thing as just 'you have shitty shoes' was back in the day.
Every time a streamer or influencer says 'no skin' a cigar gets lit in a North Carolina office.
Yeah. Back when I played Fortnite, I acquired a set skin almost immediately because I didn't want to deal with the random defaults (so I also fell into the trap myself). I've also seen more than one YouTuber complain about getting killed by "No skins" (i.e.: Noobs). There's definitely something psychologically against playing as or even against a default skin character.
This crap is why I hate people that defend cosmetic only MTX type stuff. It has a huge impact on play, when the game and it's content is designed around it.
Sure that happened. But I don't remember anyone ever like berating other people or telling them they couldn't hang out and play because they didn't have Holo Charizards. People definitely flaunted stuff, but I don't really remember being ostracized for not having the best stuff for any of the card games. By the time we hit middle school though, playing alone ostracized you from everyone. Even MTG.
Instead of a counter you take a shot at Fortnite because for some reason you dislike it?
Alright.
Leave Fortnite alone! /s
So you disagree with this video? (Timestamped)
https://youtu.be/dPHPNgIihR0?t=608