The Most Insidious Mind-fuck Ever
Addiction is defined more or less as:
If you charged parents for this big waste of time, the whole thing would come crashing down really fast. Give it away for free, and most parents are probably just happy that their kids aren't out surfing porn. (Although, its messaging functionality implemented, Neopets could be just as dangerous as chat rooms.) So how do you maintain a site like Neopets, with millions of users and daily visits? Advertising, as Wired Magazine reports. Just not any kind of advertising however. Advertising so good, that Kalle Lasn, editor in chief of Adbusters magazine declares, "It's the most insidious mind-fuck ever." Neopets excels in what it describes as "immersive advertising" -- where the advertising and the content can't be distinguished. Kids get a chance to play games that are branded by sponsoring companies. Advertisers and businesses love this because they can establish a brand relationship with kids at a very young age -- an age when they not have the maturity to identify advertising so carefully hidden.
So just what are we going to do about it? Apparently, parents don't seem to care much -- and don't see the danger in it. Neopets finds nothing wrong in what they do, and in fact, it is their business model. As adults, we are aware of the many dangers that are out there for our children. The choices we make today, will in part, be reflected in the adults our children become. We're already seeing a generation coming that has been weened on consumerism. It is up to us to educate ourselves and our children, to help them make the right choices for themselves -- to bring awareness of the world as it really is.
BTW, Neopets CEO, Doug Dohring, is a devout Scientologist, and uses scientology teachings to run his business. I'll let you decide if you should be concerned or not.
Related reading:
a state of being dependent on a certain substance, which is harmful or dangerous for the physical or mental health of the person, for his social well-being and economical functioning of the subjectMany parents would have problems with their kids watching too much television -- why then, do parents not see a problem with their children's addiction to the Neopets site? It's a question that I can't think of an answer to. It makes no sense. Neopets, for those who don't know, is a site where primarily children, go to and spend a lot of their time tending to virtual pets. In the process, they play interactive games -- some are just plain gambling -- to earn points that they could use to take more care of their pets. It's a neat way to sucker young kids in and get them hooked. Hand them a cutesy virtual pet, then watch as they get drawn in to take care of those pets -- lavish love on them; buy them toys and treats; and give them a part of their lives. Cause if you don't, the pets might suffer.
If you charged parents for this big waste of time, the whole thing would come crashing down really fast. Give it away for free, and most parents are probably just happy that their kids aren't out surfing porn. (Although, its messaging functionality implemented, Neopets could be just as dangerous as chat rooms.) So how do you maintain a site like Neopets, with millions of users and daily visits? Advertising, as Wired Magazine reports. Just not any kind of advertising however. Advertising so good, that Kalle Lasn, editor in chief of Adbusters magazine declares, "It's the most insidious mind-fuck ever." Neopets excels in what it describes as "immersive advertising" -- where the advertising and the content can't be distinguished. Kids get a chance to play games that are branded by sponsoring companies. Advertisers and businesses love this because they can establish a brand relationship with kids at a very young age -- an age when they not have the maturity to identify advertising so carefully hidden.
So just what are we going to do about it? Apparently, parents don't seem to care much -- and don't see the danger in it. Neopets finds nothing wrong in what they do, and in fact, it is their business model. As adults, we are aware of the many dangers that are out there for our children. The choices we make today, will in part, be reflected in the adults our children become. We're already seeing a generation coming that has been weened on consumerism. It is up to us to educate ourselves and our children, to help them make the right choices for themselves -- to bring awareness of the world as it really is.
BTW, Neopets CEO, Doug Dohring, is a devout Scientologist, and uses scientology teachings to run his business. I'll let you decide if you should be concerned or not.
Related reading:
- Neopets.com Fulfills Promise of Immersive Advertising -- Jack Meyers Report [PDF]
- Neopian Economics of Play: Children's Cyberpets and Online Communities as Immersive Advertising in NeoPets.com [PDF]
- Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children -- See recommendations
- Children, Adolescents, and Advertising [PDF]
The last school at which I taught counted among its staff members several who were completely taken by Neopets. They went there and did all the doing the site had to offer and then compared notes regularly in the staffroom. Great people to lead the little ones to education, don't you think?
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