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But while parents are fully informed of the doll’s recording features—and can even log in to access all of the data Barbie collects about their child and post t
by jbob2000 11y ago
But while parents are fully informed of the doll’s recording features—and can even log in to access all of the data Barbie collects about their child and post that data to Twitter or Facebook for laughs—children themselves are unaware that everything they say to the doll is being listened to.
Ok so that's messed up for obvious reasons, but the worst part is, is that parents won't be learning about their child through play and communication (you know, human things), they're learning about them through some shitty $80 toy.
This is it ladies and gents, the "internet of things"; a cheap toy vying for the spot of parent.
- fuzzywalrus 11y agoI agree: The inner-cynic in me sees the insidious side to this, that childhood follies may be be even archived and data-mined for all eternity. I digress, the thing that really jumped out at me: "according to a 2010 paper by Elena Smirnova, director of the Center of Play and Toys at Moscow State University, dolls that resemble humans are essential for the kind of role-playing that kids need to do to work through the events of their lives" I imagine this being lessened if the toy points parameters on the imagination. I know I played with action figures and placed them in pretty fantastical situations but it seems the cheapened by an electronic interaction governor. Perhaps it may enhance it but I'd wager its the former and not the later.