Curse of the Webkinz
p2pnet news view Kids & Kartels | Advertising:- Our daughter, Emma, who’ll be 11 this month, is an avid surfer. We home school her and information she gathers online comprises a vital and important part of her education.
She spends a lot of time talking to friends and she’s located a number of sites she’s interested in. They range from web pages on horses – she’s crazy about horses – to games sites.
Emma is an intelligent kid but that notwithstanding, she’s an easy mark for online predators of the nonsexual kind.
They’re black-hearted marketeers who operate what are euphemistically called social networking sites. But in fact they’re hardcore commercial pages, purpose-designed to get kids who use them to blackmail their parents into buying product.
One such is Webkinz, a fuzzy toy site that’s sweeping the net, sucking in young surfers.
“Drawing preteens as young as 6 or 7, sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz are forcing parents to decide at what age they are willing to let their children roam about and interact with friends online,” says Associated Press. “They, along with schools, are having to teach earlier lessons on online safety, etiquette and balance with offline activities.”
My wife, Liz, and I loathe and detest Webkinz not for what they are – in and of themselves they’re harmless stuffies of a similar ilk to Beanie Babies – but for what they represent.
Webkinz are activated online. And they’re breeding like rabbits. The problem is, every time a new version of one of these creatures is ‘born’, parents are expected to zoom out and buy one. And they’re not cheap.
Then their young owners can interact with each other on the Webkinz site.
‘Restricted to those who buy a Webkinz plush toy’
All of Emma’s friends own three of four of these things and some of them even have the whole collection.
Yes, Emma has five, two of which we bought under heavy pressure and three of which were birthday presents.
We allow her to spend half an hour every other day on Webkinz, playing with her best friend who lives in another town.
She’s a smart kid, but if we didn’t keep an eye on her, she’d be on there all day every day.
“Waddle around and meet new friends!” – says Club Penguin. Unlike Club Penguin, though, observes AP, access to Webkinz, a Canadian-based site from Ganz, “is restricted to those who buy a Webkinz plush toy at a retail store for about $15.”
That, and only that, is what it’s all about. Any slight educational component is wholly subservient to product sales and yet we know some kids who spend hours every day on the site, and whose conversation is about Webkinz and nothing else.
An exaggeration? Sadly, No.
“Kids take quizzes or perform chores to earn ‘KinzCash’ to buy furniture for their virtual room and food for their virtual pet,” says AP. “They must return to the site regularly to keep their pets fed and healthy; otherwise, it’s a trip to Dr. Quack for medical care, though the pets themselves never die.”
Emma is a happy and contented child and she tries hard to understand the dangers inherent in these kinds of sites. But she doesn’t have the background to fully comprehend what they’re really all about. After all, they’re only toys. Aren’t they? It’s hard for her, especially when she sees and hears other kids raving about these and similar sites.
“Jane Healy, author of ‘Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds – for Better and Worse,’ said kids may feel they are ‘going to be a hopeless social failure’ if they can’t participate’,” says AP, going on to quote her as stating sites such as Webkinz, “also teach kids to be ‘a good consuming member of the consuming culture (and) to need stuff to be considered successful or good’.”
It adds:
She urges caution in opening the door to “powerful forces out there trying to intrude into your family life and personal relations with your child.” Not only do these sites introduce commercialism, she said, but they also can take kids away from offline environments where they can learn to pick up body language and facial expressions.
Being online has taught Emma all kinds of skills. She keys almost as quickly as I do, for example, and she’s now an expert at using the various search engines to find information.
But the commercial sites are an almost irresistible draw for her and her friends.
“Parents should at least keep computers in an open room and surf the Web side-by-side with their kids now and then,” says AP, adding, “A discussion on time limits is important because rules are far easier to impose from the beginning.”
That’s the way things are in our home, but even with all of that, Webkinz still raise their ugly little heads all too often.
I asked Emma, who’s just read this, to finish it off.
She says:
They’ve (Ganz) also started selling charm bracelets and trading cards which are very expensive: about $3 for a small little charm. They encourage you to stay on all day, and if you do, you get a special present such as a body spray for your Webkinz, online of course.
I understand what you and Mum are concerned about and I understand that it is kind of a rip-off.
But it’s still kind of fun, even though they do have the most annoying characters such as Tabatha von Meow at ther employment office and Art at the Curio Shop.
Emploment office?
It’s where you go to get a job so you can get Kinzcash so you can buy food and stuff for your pet. Every time you buy a toy they get happy again. If you don’t they get unhappy, and if you don’t buy food they get sick. There’s also the Wishing Well and Wheel of Wow which are sort of like money wheels at casinos.
How do you know what a casino wheel looks like? – I asked Emma.
“I’ve seen them on TV,” she said, adding, “Webkinz are $14 plus tax, and Lil kinz are $11, plus tax.”
Jon Newton – p2pnet
Also See:
Associated Press – Sites introduce preteens to online social networking, July 13, 2007
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July 13th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Wait til the curse of Neopets!!..
July 13th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
As a parent of a 10 year old girl, and 7 year old boy, I too have seen problems in sites like these.
Presently, both of my children are in Club Penguin, but I have had to put my foot down in not allowing them to become “members” (which ensue a monthly rate).
Both children have played in the Penguin world for several months now, and have even racked up a large sum of money for winning at games, working etc… The sad things is, is that even though they have a lot of money in the game, they can not use it to buy things, because they are not “members”, thus leading to my son hounding me to allow him to become a member.
I have also found my daughter trying to register on other similar sites, using her mail account, and was thwarted due to needing permission though my mail account.
I understand that companies like these must make money for it to continue, yet there needs to be a different way for them to make cash, than to prey on children.
Just my two cents
July 14th, 2007 at 5:48 am
Here’s my 1.2 cents, as it was then ;P
http://p2pnet.net/story/2528
July 14th, 2007 at 8:52 am
KILLJOY !!!!! Just kidding. I agree with you as the parent of a 10 and 11 year old who pester me all the time to buy Webkins. They already have four each that we bought before we kneq what we were letting ourselves in for.
Curse is right!
July 14th, 2007 at 11:53 am
There are two valid things that you could level at Webkinz: the idea that you can go to the “casino” (wishing well) and come out ahead, and the not-so-subtle coercion to invest in trading cards and the like.
Beyond that, I think there is value in the Webkinz site. They have deliberately made the educational part of the site the fastest way to “make” kinzcash, and it teaches children to be careful what they “spend” their money on. The chat engine is pre-formed, so that no identification or personal data can be revealed. Some of the games are vaguely educational (better than watching TV, anyway). Perhaps the best value in the site is that a six year old I know is keen to learn to read, so that she can understand what’s going on better. (I have printed out some of the main words on the site, so that she can sound them out without grubbying my screen.)
There’s also a lesson in value, and restraint. For $10 – $15 bucks, you can play for a year. That’s good value. But if you start piling on more stuff, what do you get for it? Not so much, I think. My kid has one webkinz. She’ll be lucky if she gets another one before the year is up, and trading cards are out of the question.
P.S. “as young as 6 or 7″??? Try 4, at least if there’s other webkinz in the family
July 14th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Intellectually, I understand what you are saying but as another patrent, I think your thinking is very, very dangerous.
I would say that anyone who thinks his or her child can be or should be educated on such as site as Webkinz has a serious problem with reality.
You say “There’s also a lesson in value, and restraint. For $10 – $15 bucks, you can play for a year. That’s good value.” What about the $15 you have to pay out every time your child wants a new webkinz, all of the other considerations aside? The entire purpose of the site is to get your child into a mindspace where they’ll worryr the life out of you to spend money on somethign Ganz wants you to buy, nothing else.
You also say “Perhaps the best value in the site is that a six year old I know is keen to learn to read, so that she can understand what’s going on better. (I have printed out some of the main words on the site, so that she can sound them out without grubbying my screen.)”
Sorry but that is even more frightening than anything else you have said.
July 14th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
A father in Canada whose son is also being brainwashed by Webkinz emailed:
“Read the comments under this. Then be afraid. Be very afraid. http://www.dadlabs.com/activties/webkinz_hacked.html
“There is also an email address for someone named Patricia Deldo —— atriciaDeldo@yahoo.com.”
Here’s the last (at 4:35 pm Pacific) item:
>>> colby is a retard – written by a real person on July 06, 2007 – i had a friend,she lives right down the road from me and is the worst child alive and should be known as the devils child! and she hacked my file and with all my money,spent it and sent all the stuff to her file!wow what a ^$#@*.”<<<
Cheers!
July 14th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Barbara: it’s quite a leap from “some of the games are vaguely educational” to “anyone who thinks his or her child can be or should be educated on such a site…”. Trust me, my kid is getting a very real education! (And not from webkinz, in case I need to spell that out for you.)
Barbara: I made it quite clear that my kid wasn’t getting another webkinz, didn’t I? She knows better than to “worry the life out of me”. I’m not suggesting that this is you, but anyone who has that trouble with their kids needs to spend more time talking to them. Sometimes, people don’t give them credit for what they can understand. Chat with them and try – even if they don’t get it the first time, it may set the foundation for later.
Barbara: “…that is even more frightening…” – why?
Jon: I took a look at that site, and beyond the obvious scam people trying to get your username/password (is anyone that dumb?) it seems to be about kids sharing their passwords and being surprised when they lose “virtual stuff”. This is overblown. For starters, you can only mail three items to a user per day, which limits the damage; second, even if someone changes your password to lock you out, you can always get it back with the secret code; third, anyone who gets so worked up over VIRTUAL objects needs to get a REAL life.
Jon: You should email that guy back, and get him to delete those scammers – why is he letting them sit on his site anyway???
July 14th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Hi, this is Liz, Jon’s better half
. I was too busy to make a contribution to the article the morning it was written, so here are (a few of) my thoughts on the issue.
First of all, I’d dispute the educational value of Webkinz, even though some of the activities may seem, at first blush, to require some thinking.
Take the game where the child has to make up words out of letter cubes that come tumbling down in a Tetris kind of a way. Yes, the player has to use his/her brains to make up the words, but once you’ve played the game a dozen times it becomes pretty mechanical. I’d be interested to have someone do a study on how many different words a child will make up over the course of two dozen games. I think it would be found that kids use the same limited sets of words over and over again. And I think researchers would find that intelligent kids only play the game over and over because it’s a way of getting Kinzcash for buying stuff.
And training good little spenders is what’s at the heart of the cute and friendly world of Webkinz. Spend, buy, accumulate and throw away when something better comes along. That seems to be all Emma and her friends do on Webkinz. When parents are trying to instil certain core values in a child, Webkinz certainly looks like the enemy. For example, in our house we observe the Re-use, Reduce and Recycle motto and I always think to myself of the huge quantity of garbage those dratted synthetic creatures represent because inevitably, when the next fad comes around, that’s where they’ll end up.
Also, when children are in front of the computer playing Webkinz, they’re not using all of their senses as they would, could and should be: smell, touch, and so on. Moreover, this ‘game’ offers only a very small sliver of all of the possibilities of experiences life available through life in the large. When they’re using ,colouring activity on the Net, the kids don’t get shade and nuances of colour to work with: it’s always the same, flat, in-your-face colours. I won’t even comment on the horribly simplistic and tinny music.
Finally, I’m a gardener and when Emma told me that in her Webkinz garden, watermelons and pumpkins ripen before carrots and strawberries, I could only shake my head. Sure, teach a child such nonsense: it’ll certainly encourage them to go out in the garden and take on the endless weeding and watering that is a necessary part of growing anything.
======================
Jon, here.
“Intellectually, I understand what you are saying but as another patrent, I think your thinking is very, very dangerous,” says Barbara.
I agree completely. This is the thin end of a very nasty wedge: it’s manipulation of childrens’ minds for profit. Reach the kid and you have the parent.
Webkinz have already seriously intruded into our family life, but we’re trying to turn this into a positive rather than negative thing. Emma is fully aware of our views on this and as I say in the post, she’s a smart kid, and I’m pretty sure she’ll ultimately see she and her friends are being led by their noses.
Anyone who’s a regular reader of p2pnet will know how I feel about corporate mind rape of children. Too strong? I don’t think so. Before this site was ever launched, I’d say there’s an even chance a lot of very clever marketing people with high salaries spent a great deal of time on focus groups, perhaps even presenting the design and characterisations of the creatures to child psychologists so Ganz could finalise configurations most likely to maximise their products’ potential to attract children: to addict them to the site with the sole purpose of getting them to pressure their parents.
The prime objective? To hook children who aren’t yet wise enough to see they’re being scammed into spending their own money, if they have any, or their parents’, on as many Webkinz and peripherals as possible, as soon as possible, before the craze dies out.
They’re probably working on the next ‘Webkinz’ type product as we virtually speak.
Cheers!
July 15th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Y’know what’s fascinating here?
This article would be innocuous in itself — it even poses as a “consumer advocacy” type thing.
However, let’s have some perspective here, and remember what the whole point of this site is supposed to be:
P2pnet started out as, above all, an “advocacy” site which tries to persuade that p2p networks aren’t all bad. However, instead of discussions of how p2p technology could be used for interesting purposes like (say) VOIP, or to thwart attempts at censorship by governments of political speech, we get literally YEARS of articles concentrating on demonizing the RIAA/MPAA/anybody who actually dares take the position that the copyright-holders just might maybe have a valid point.
Add to this the fact that this site has predominately subsisted because of advertising for the p2p companies (as Mr. newton admitted himself just a few months ago during the infamous “give me money or I sell” fiasco….and you start to understand why Mr. newton NEVER runs opposing content defending (or even accurately presenting) the “other side” of the debate. (Mustn’t bite the hand that feeds him, methinks.)
But now, suddenly, we get a different spin on things. Newton Et. Al begin running stuff about the open-source scene (specifically concentrating on the new GPL.) Now, since nobody has bothered to ask this, I’m going to have to do it: How can the same people who DEFEND copyright violation on a massive scale ALSO believe that people who don’t respect copyright on music are somehow going to do so in regards to a software license (even one as fluffy-soft and innocuous as the GPL?)
These type of questions HAVE to be asked, especially in light of the fact that Newton seems very biased against advertizing or commercial activity of any kind (hence his description of the RIAA etc. as “the cartels”, and his “consumer advocacy” soapboxing in regard to the relaxation of restrictions on TV advertising in Canada.)
This whole site is dishonest from square one. It has NEVER been about “p2p advocacy” OR about advocating opensource software. newton’s whole agenda revolves around spouting self-contradictory fluff-pieces masquerading as “news”, and hoping against hope that his readers don’t ask any questions.
The rise of P2P networks (originally driven by people who wanted ‘free’ mp3s without having to buy CDs first) has created an entire subculture dedicated to the proposition that anything goes, and anybody who says otherwise is just a “big corporate” meanie.
However, opensource licenses like the GPL can only “enforce freedom” via the legal mechanisms of the current copyright system. If the term is lowered (to say fifteen years), then large amounts of the code-base will drop into the “public domain” and Stallman etc. won’t be ABLE to do anything about “tivoization” or whatever their pet-peeve of the moment is.
Same goes for if copyright is scrapped entirely.
So, realistically, you can’t have it both ways: either the current copyright regime stays, and the GPL can continue to be enforced (but you also get a vanishingly small number of scofflaws getting pinched for downloading off of p2p networks)….or the copyright system changes/is scrapped, and it’s a total free-for-all.
(We all know which side folks like piratebay and the p2p companies are on.)
July 16th, 2007 at 4:51 am
what has this got to do with webkinz henry?
July 16th, 2007 at 5:34 am
Henry Emrich:
[quote]cartel
noun {C}
a group of similar independent companies who join together to control prices and limit competition[/quote]
The above definition is why Jon uses the word cartel to describe the RIAA and MPAA as this sort of behaviour is exactly what they do.
July 16th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Henry,
As someone who is a frequent participant at P2Pnet I have to disagree with much of your message (seems this isn’t the first time).
The world is not the black&white place you seek to make it out to be. As a copyright holder, I find it offensive when people lump all copyright holders together. There is an increasing number of us who want people to respect the rights of authors, and that includes the non-creator copyright holding companies like the incumbent content and software manufacturing industry who have been the worst offenders at disrespecting our rights and interests.
It is incorrect to think that proponents of P2P, p2pnet, or personal ownership/control of modern communications technology are somehow opposed the the interests of “copyright holders”. That is the cool-aid that the old-economy content and software manufacturing industry executives are trying to convince you to drink, and it is too bad to learn how much you have been sipping already.
They try to pit this debate as if they are on the side of protecting rights (copyright, property rights) when in fact they are the worst offenders. Given the debate about “DRM”, which is fundamentally a question about who should be in control of the keys that lock down our hardware, it is hard to not laugh when they claim to be protecting the interests of “rights holders” as they lock down *OUR* property against *OUR* interests.
All of the new-media/new-technology articles that Jon selects and writes about are all interconnected. They also prove the point that those people who have concerns about what the legacy industry associations are doing also have solutions to many of the problems (IE: there is more money for software authors in Free/Libre and Open Source Software than there is working for a legacy software manufacturing firm , there is more money for more artists as indies supporting the CMCC policy proposals than for those whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the major labels, etc).
As to the suggestion that reducing the scope and term of copyright would harm FLOSS or a majority of other copyright holders, that would be a conversation for another article. As the policy coordinator for CLUE: Canada’s Association for Free/Libre and Open Source Software http://cluecan.ca/policy I have to disagree with you there as well.
Jon & Liz,
Have you checked out Jumping Monkeys, which is an audio blog (NetCast, etc) about parenting in the digital age. I suspect you and Liz would be interesting to interview for the show! http://www.twit.tv/jm How your family has been dealing with the legal threats, and their support for your unusual profession, would make for a very interesting show. Leo will understand, being in the tech media biz himself (Was on Call for Help, etc, now Runs the TWIT network, and does a few Radio shows and a TV show called The Lab with Leo). http://leoville.com/
July 16th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Hi Russell:
We’ll certainly have a look. Thanks : )
Cheers!
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Not to dispute anyone, and thanks for the replies….
Russel McOrmond:
1. Yes, distribution companies HAVE been “among the worst offenders” in disrespecting those who actually create the content they distribute. That, however, does not — and cannot — magically make the pro-p2p folk, or their advocacy-shills like Mr. Newton, into some kind of saviors, or defenders of such rights.
Examine the hue-and-cry that goes up whenever a pro-copyright position is mentioned. The various articles on this site related to what Newton Et. Al insist on considering “RIAA propaganda efforts” are a case in point. The mere idea that there are some who would question the motivations of p2p users seems to strike the readership of this site as anathema.
So sorry to have to be the devil’s advocate here, Russel, but:
A. Being screwed over by the record labels and being screwed over by the p2p networks/their users are BOTH instances of (lemme see here) BEING SCREWED OVER. The idea that one is somehow malicious while the other is benevolent is somewhat ridiculous and unsupportable.
B. Of course the world isn’t “black and white”. People can find all sorts of comfortable exceptions and “special cases” to give themselves loopholes so that they don’t have to actually live by their own stated values.
If people would pony up and say that their use of p2p networks was, for example, a tool of “electronic civil disobedience”, then I’d respect them — they’re taking a stand against what they percieve to be an unjust and even immoral law by flagrantly violating it.
But when their rhetoric always seems to come back to “CD’s are ‘too expensive’” and/or “there’s only one good song on ‘em”…..I get a tad suspicious.
There’s an old Jane’s addiction song that goes “when I want something and I don’t want to pay for it…..”, but hey, that’s totally different, right?
Now, to answer the guy who asked me what this has to do with Webkinz: this particular fluff piece serves to advance the (already staggeringly obvious) anti-corporate/anti-advertising/anti-money bias.
The Recording companies are “cartels.” Advocacy for their side of the debate is “propaganda”, then we get fluff-pieces about how toy companies are (gasp!) getting kids to BUY THINGS!!!!!
Come on, people…..an anti-advertizing stance is a little ironic, considering that the site has prominent ADVERTISING right on it! Am I the only one who actually bothers to think things through?
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Russell:
WILL agree with you that the attempts to “lock down” the hardware are unacceptable. However, they cannot work. DRM cannot work. All it takes is ONE person who is even halfway tech-savvy, and any attempts to do so will be defeated. (Witness the fact that Vista was hacked almost immediately after release, for example.)
Now multiply that by 6-odd billion people, throw in a little bit of good ol’ ECD (Electronic civil disobedience), and you’ve got a war that the “cartels” cannot win.
But that STILL doesn’t change the fact that the primary impetus to the development of p2p technology was bored college kids who just didn’t want to buy CD’s. Else why would the “CD’s are too espensive’ and/or “only one good song” thing keep appearing so frequently on this site?
October 28th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
wow just wow
yo mama
November 3rd, 2007 at 2:56 pm
i thinik webkinz is not that bad of a website. it is made for kids to have fun and not to learn so just get over it !
November 3rd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
webkinz is cereal
January 11th, 2009 at 12:22 am
wekinz is a rip off and a hoax i hate webkinz
May 30th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
my daughter says it’s fun, but IT’S SO EXPENSIVE!!!!!! only the really ugly ones go on sale. neopets is free forever. people at every age can do it. they only have stuff you can buy IF YOU WANT special items, not to get access to the website. you all should try it. even adults do it. =)
July 11th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
My daughter aged 10 loves webkinz, while my son likes videogames and sports. I have to worry about my daughter all of the time. I let her on for 45 minutes each day, and then she has to go outside or do something else. She has three, a rooster, a spotted turtle, and a raindeer. She loves them, and she spends more time with them online then she does with our real animals, Oreo the cat, Nestor our dog, and Koala our hamster.
She complains when she has to get off, and this is my only concern. Don’t get me wrong, I think webkinz is a wonderfull sight for children. But she has no right to complain when she gets on everyday for 45 minutes. Not just that, but she complains if she can’t get another webkinz when she already has three! There expensive, 10.99-14.99. We can’t afford this.
My son doesn’t care for webkinz, but I’m afraid he soon will. The sight has taught my dauther some things, but it also teaches her about lottery. I told her she couldn’t do this untill 21, and she’s not aloud on wishing well 2. Of course I know she gets on that when I’m not around, which is why I’m almost always in the room when she’s on.
I don’t want to sound- over predective. But I suggest you odn’t tell your kids about these if they don’t know yet. If you have extra pocket money, buy them it for Christmas or there birthday, but watch out while your kid is playing online. It’s totally safe on kinzchat, though.
If my daughter wants anymore, she has to save up her money from chores. This makes her do her housework. She’s almost ready to buy the horse. Neopets isn’t safe, because your neopet can die. Marapets isnt good either. Plus, there creepy. Neopets isn’t right. But neopets didn’t copy or do anything bad to webkinz, I have to agree. Even webkinz said so, so if you think the romor is true, go to webkinz bullentinz, and webkinz will tell you that nothing will happen to your childs webkinz. Webkinz cannot die: Webkinz bullentinz concerned about a romor?:
Many people have been writing in, asking about a rumor that is going around. The rumor is about something in Webkinz World hurting Webkinz pets. The most important thing to know is that this rumor is not true at all. Nothing in Webkinz World would ever hurt your Webkinz pets.
Everyone at Webkinz World Headquarters works really hard to make Webkinz World a safe, happy and fun place to play. We want you and your Webkinz pets to have a great time playing on the site.
Please make sure to tell your friends that their pets are safe and the rumor is not true.
Remember that we would never allow anything
to hurt your Webkinz pets.
Hope that helped you in buying a webkinz pet, but to make sure its safe!