Lately, Connery has been receiving Webkinz—stuffed animal toys that come with special codes that give entry to an Internet site where the toys can be “adopted” and “cared for” virtually. Now, as far as he knows, the present is the stuffed animal. We have not volunteered information about the online component.
The question has become whether we should tell him about it and then allow him to use the computer and the Internet to check it out. It is the first of what I predict will be many dilemmas we will have about exposing our kids to the electronic media, and I am—so far—advocating against telling him.
As a dutiful parent, I checked out the Webkinz site before making up my mind. And while I’m sure I’ll get many letters to the contrary about the educational and social developments possible at the Webkinz site, it seemed to me little more than a training tool for future online shopping.
When Connery makes his first purchase from Amazon—or whatever the online superstore of the roaring 2020s is—I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to do it by blinking his eyes in a certain pattern or something. He’s not going to need to be trained in it, any more than most of us have had to learn how to buy things from our favorite online haunts. I daresay most parents will agree with me on that, their views on Webkinz notwithstanding.
But as far as I’m concerned, that’s also the case with the bulk of the non-consumer computer skills that most of us use on a daily basis. I really don’t think that it’s necessary to teach Connery how to use a mouse, for example. I predict that when he needs to use one, he will figure it out in 30 seconds flat. Kids are very intuitive when it comes to technology. In my opinion, the same is true with video games—also banned for the moment in my house.
The main reason for my hard line on this is that once these technologies are introduced, it’s impossible to put them back in the Xbox, so to speak. We already argue with him quite a bit about how much television he gets to watch; add in the lure of an interactive online “world” and we might never get him away from the various screens without a fight.
As it is, our son loves books and Legos and drawing. (In fact, he often draws “video games”, which I think is sweet and my own parents—who, by the way, resolutely refused to buy me an Atari way back when—decry as evidence that I am overly protective.) I don’t know how long those would hold up next to the Internet and a Wii console.
It’s not that I don’t ever plan to allow these kinds of toys into our lives. I’d just like to hold off on it as long as I possibly can. Sooner or later he’s going to need to have a computer and desperately want to have video games to belong among his peers. When one or both of those days come, I guess I’ll tell him about the Webkinz. Until then, I’m going to keep my mouth shut and exclaim loudly about adorable stuffed animals.
NB: A version of this essay appeared in this morning's Business to Business, a monthly publication of the Bozeman Chronicle.