Web Playgrounds of the Very Young – New York Times
LOS ANGELES — Forget Second Life. The real virtual world gold rush centers on the grammar-school set.
Trying to duplicate the success of blockbuster Web sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz, children’s entertainment companies are greatly accelerating efforts to build virtual worlds for children. Media conglomerates in particular think these sites — part online role-playing game and part social scene — can deliver quick growth, help keep movie franchises alive and instill brand loyalty in a generation of new customers.
One of my nieces is really into Webkinz. She breathlessly told me all about her pets, and I managed to avoid telling her in excruciating detail all about my many hairstyles and outfits and scripted swords (that I don’t know how to use) on Second Life. It was the longest conversation I’ve ever had with her, actually. I suppose she owns the little plush animals that come with a secret code that gains access to the site, or however it works.
She told me all their names; the brown one is called Brownie, the black one is called Blackie, and so on and so on.
When I was her age, my stuffed animals had names like Petunia the Skunk and Larry Lion.
My niece is a bit older—22—and while I feel like we have a lot to talk about, when I really think about it I would have to admit that OUR longest conversation ever was about choosing a cell phone and plan. I think these newfangled electronic gizmos are really catching on with the kids. ; )
“Media conglomerates in particular think these sites…help keep movie franchises alive and instill brand loyalty in a generation of new customers.”
Though we all know this kind of marketing goes on, somehow the concept is more chilling when made so explicit. I picture grown men in ties giving PowerPoint presentations about growth and penetration in the 4- to 6-year-old female demographic.
My niece has been raised with tie-in toys and dolls… almost from infancy, now that I think of it. Her mom was pretty much an early adopter of the whole “American Girl” schtick, with the dolls and the books and the clothes and the matching outfits (not that she could afford them, she conspired with my mother-in-law, who approved on educational grounds). This particular niece is really sheltered and timid, and this is probably the ONLY thing she does on the internet.
Ugh. It just occurred to me that Webkins: The Movie is now inevitable.
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