Turning Children into Consumers-One App at a Time

September 27th, 2016

If you have children between the ages of 6-12, chances are they play on technology some of the time. Even if you ban technology from your home, unless you are homeschooling them, they will be exposed to apps through school. They may use apps as rewards or as a teaching tool. Other children may be discussing how fun certain games are and, if you have a sleepover, at some point, there will be talk of technology. Someone always brings a phone or tablet resulting in tech play.

My daughters have been exposed to certain games over time. There is an app that uses monsters to teach phonics and spelling to children. There were Strawberry Shortcake games where you learned real recipes and My Little Pony games that taught math skills. This is great stuff, educational, good clean fun. However, after a sleepover, my daughters were wanting to download a new game, Talking Angela. The whole game was about deciding what she would wear then answering her questions as she sat at a cafe. Angela is a cat but she asks what you like to do, where you live, how many people are in your family and she shares stories then expects the children to speak about their lives as well.It freaked me out. I asked the girls how they knew who they were talking to and why they thought a cartoon cat would be asking these questions. I deleted that app.

Recently, I've noticed a new trend. A good friend of my daughter's introduced her to Hollywood Stories. In this game, attractive animated women get dressed up, go for auditions and put on shows. They can communicate with their friends and other people they have allowed into their circle. They all have fake names so it could be anyone. The goal is to shop and invite people to your premiere. The women speak to each other while striking a pose. In order to shop, you need to earn points and you do so by watching commercials. The kids know this so they click every time they see a pop-up ad for a commercial. They sit through it knowing they will get extra points to buy more stuff. Other people can go through your portfolio (the clothing you have purchased and looks you created), and vote on it. It is all very superficial. Initially, I thought Hollywood Stories was the only app that worked that way but it is quite common.

So, to recap, the goal of these games is to buy stuff. In order to buy stuff, you need to watch ads (you are paid to expose yourself to advertising). You are rewarded based on the opinion of others (external evaluation) and the amount of stuff you have. These games are training our children to consume and to base their value on what others think. That is alarming. Add to this the fact that some children are on technology for hours at a time and that far too many of them lack the amount of social interaction and connection they need to develop adequate social skills. If you have no real life connections and are bombarded by messages about your worth based on acquisition of stuff and status and we have a serious issue. I don't know what the long term consequences will be. My hope is that the pendulum swings back and children turn away from technology. A return to the outdoors and community connections is what I'd like to see. Only time will tell. For now, I am unplugging my children and making time to connect with them before it's too late.

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org