Fortnite is Free, But Kids Are Getting Bullied Into Spending Money

An anonymous reader shares a report: In a private school where tuition is high, students can bicker about clothes, shoe brands, cellphones, or video games. At Paul Towler's middle school, where he teaches English to seventh and eighth graders, some kids 'have enough money to be comfortable and others' parents are owners of giant nationwide restaurant chains,' he says. Towler is used to seeing such disparities play out in the real world through objects that you can physically hold. But after battle royale sensation Fortnite exploded, the fights between students took an unexpected turn. Fortnite's virtual clothes became a status symbol, and some of Towler's pupils started policing what their classmates wore in-game.

The confrontations could get ugly. One student in Towler's class 'begged his parents for [money] to buy a skin because no one would play with him' because he wore basic virtual clothes. While the bullying wasn't always Fortnite-specific, Towler recalls that it seemed 'vicious for [the student] to have another avenue for the meaner kids to attack him.' Things got better for that kid, but when your social scene begins and ends with Fortnite, having nobody to play with is like a mark of death.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.