‘Fortnite’ Tutors are Now a Thing. And Yes, Parents are Paying Them
I can remember my parents trying to sign me up for piano lessons when I was young because I wanted to play the drums. Thinking that was silly and sort of embarrassing, I decided to play trumpet instead to avoid being tutored. These days however, kids probably wouldn't mind being tutored for something such as this.
According to reports, some parents are paying up to $20 an hour to get their kids help to get better at video games, especially with the online game "Fortnite." No, I'm not joking.
With over 125 million playing the game worldwide, the pressure for children to win among peers is leaving parents open to giving their kids an added boost. So what would possibly possess parents to give in and hire a video game "coach" for their kids? There are three main reasons:
- Helping their kid improve at "Fortnite" improves their social life. One parent told the Wall Street Journal, quote, "There's pressure not to just play [a game] but to be really good at it."
- Kids are more obsessed with video games than ever, so their parents want them to be really good at something they love. So in that way, it could be like when your parents got you, say, guitar lessons.
- And with the rise of e-sports, if a kid gets good enough at his craft, maybe (just maybe) they could go pro at video games and make real money.
Over the past several years, some parents who originally thought college scholarships for video games were a joke are starting to change their perception as many universities now support video game teams for competitions against other schools.
What's even stranger: There are even some parents who are taking lessons themselves to keep up with their children in hopes of competing against them? Yep, this is the world we live in now.
I would have loved it if I have a Legends of Zelda, or Super Mario Bros. coach back in the day! It would have saved me so much stress and anxiety to complete those extremely difficult levels that much faster!