Guest Blog: Webkinz World

                                                   

                                                         
    Susan’s post about Wordgirl got me thinking about how different it is to be a kid in today's society.  Kids are more well connected and technologically savvy than ever before.  Over the weekend I babysat for two girls (7 and 10 years old).  The girls spent all of the time I was at their house on Webkinz.com – either playing games on the website or talking about how much they loved it.  For those of you who don’t know about webkinz (I didn’t before this weekend!) let me fill you in on this phenomenon that has sparked a craze among tweens and their parents!   Webkinz is a unique product  – a combination of a small plush stuffed animal, a virtual pet, and a social networking website.  Each stuffed animal comes with a special code that unlocks a virtual world for the webkinz owner, giving them access to “kinzcash” (webkinz very own currency) and allowing them to feed and care for their webkinz, play games, and connect with other webkinz owners.   
    I was shocked at how well the young girls navigated the site, and I have to admit I was pretty impressed with the content of the site.  There seemed to be many educational take aways from webkinz.  The girls, only 7 and 10, had an understanding of currency and were able to explain to me why they were feeding their webkinz a bagel (because bagel’s were the special of the day, at 20% off), rather than full priced spaghetti.  Another positive was that the girls became accustomed to working for their money.  In webkinz world, you have to play games at the arcade in order to earn more kinzcash, which allows you to do whatever you’d like on the website.  Watching the girls diligently play in the webkinz arcade so they could increase their kinzcash stock, I felt as if they were learning a sense of ownership and responsibility.  I could not get over how quickly and easily the girls navigated the webkinz website.  Certainly, webkinz serves as a way for kids to learn how to familiarize themselves with the internet in a safe and protected environment.
    There’s no denying that Webkinz is definitely a hit with the tween age group.  Kids just can’t get enough.  One of the girls told me that one of her friends had nearly 60 different webkinz!  And while there seem to be many positive takeaways to webkinz, I can’t help but wonder when a virtual world is just that – virtual.  I hope that the lessons being taught through webkinz “virtual world” are being reinforced and internalized in kids through actual play.

Comments

[Beryl Deskin]

Thanks for spotlighting this newest phenomenon. I was wondering what it was about. Sounds as though Webkinz has the potential for balancing media influences of the internet, as Sesame Street and it's off shoots did for TV oh so many decades ago. But there may be a significant difference.

There's more to life than economic lessons in a virtual world. Sesame Street focused on socialization as well as, cooperation among a wide variety of people and basic literacy.

Sesame Street was/is viewed in a main living area of the house. Many parents learned how to interact with their families from overhearing the songs and skits. Does a virtual world, controlled by the tween, provide similar skills and knowledge to thrive in our non-virtual worlds? Or is it re-inforcing social isolation and self-absorbtion?

I realize that your comments showcased a part of the program and those lessons that can be very important to a segment of the population,who have become an economic powerhouse for Madison Ave. But how does Webkinz contribute to developing healthy, public discourse among those enthusiastic young people?