There’s a fine article in today’s New York Times exploring the relationship between online, Facebook-like Web sites and the young girls these sites target. It’s stunning, really, to read that these youngsters (the profiled girl here is 9) prefer to engage in virtual worlds wherein they dress up dolls, do each other’s hair and gossip—granted, excellent training for the real world—all from the comfort of their chair. You bet these sites create controversy, with concerned parents groups, one of which I’m a member of, claiming that they’ll ruin children’s real life social skills.
Even Mattel’s Barbie, that model of American female domesticity, is getting in on the action, with BarbieGirls.com currently in beta.
I don’t know, do we really want our children spending all of their free time playing online dolly? I’m not a doctor (clearly), but it just seems unwholesome to me. Can’t they at least spend their time online doing the Wikipedia Shuffle?
Doll Web Sites Drive Girls to Stay Home and Play [New York Times]
I find this rather sad, I don’t see ANY valid reason for ANY kid going online – nothing good can come of it. There is more then enough BS even for adults to deal with, you want to throw a 9 year old into that? I figure it this way, when your daughter old enough to date (ei: 21 years old), then she is old enough to go online unsupervised. I think the nun factory is even better… ah… the good old days!
Jon
Thanks for this site!
hifue.info
that sucks
ok i think that all kids should be aloud online all they need is adulte supper vishion any where from (9 to 10) they shold have adulte suppore vishion but thats just me!!
i agred to vicky!
i agred with vicky it really true!!
thankssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!