I guess there's this
new thing called online communities that all the kids are into. Apparently they even have virtual worlds where you can adopt a persona called an avatar and do everything from slay demons with a broadsword to buy art using virtual money. What will they think of next?
Some very smart people realized that there's a market in creating virtual worlds for preschoolers. If you haven't heard,
Webkinz are stuffed animals that come with a registration code, so you can log into the site and play with your stuffed animal in cyberspace. You earn virtual dollars by playing online games, which you can then use to buy things for your Webkinz doll. Think Sims for kindergarteners, with less of the frustration. You know, the kind you felt when your Sim was completely unable to score with any potential mates (I'm still bitter).
I am fairly anti-marketing for children, to the point where my child has seen maybe three commercials in her life and I think she believes her eyeballs will melt if she watches one all the way through. However, I'm
not that freaked about this new development in kid consumerism. Because I recognize that toys are generally marketed to, well, kids, and my child is growing up in an age where virtual reality will be part of her life. We always try and practice critical thinking with advertising, pointing out marketing ploys, asking "Do you think the toy will do all that?" and having conversations about it. If Ganz is going to try and build brand loyalty, we'll discuss that, but with the current fickle climate at our house, I wish them luck in that endeavor. And I'm not particularly bothered by the fact that my child can play with her animal online, as long as we do it the way we do television and cake: in moderation. In fact, when my sister brought home a Webkinz animal, she and my child spent a nice hour poking around the site. Then my kid got bored and wanted to draw instead, while my sister spent the next three hours playing preschool games to earn enough money to buy a swimming pool. (Note to self: daughter is fine, but do not allow sister to play World of War-crack.)
Just so you know, I'm the permissive parent in the house, and if you think the Webkinz site is the devil's playground, feel free to share.
