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If ever there was a case for parental controls, it's this: According to Virtual Worlds Management, there are now over 200 youth-oriented virtual worlds live, planned, or actively being developed. In other words, rather than grab a ball and glove after school, kids left on their own with access to a computer will literally have hundreds of virtual worlds to choose from and plenty of opportunities to spend their allowance.
When broken down into worlds targeting kids (7 and under), tweens (8-12), and teens (13+), VMW says "the kids market is the clear leader," noting 107 worlds are banking on at least part of their audience consisting of kids in the under-7 range. To make money off these markets, 59 of the virtual worlds use micro-transactions, giving users free access to the world but charging for virtual goods. Another 57 worlds follow the subscription based model, and 46 use advertising, VMW says.
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Skiplives
January 28, 2009 at 11:54am
I have three kids under the age of 8 and they have been online for the last few years. Sites like Webkinz and Club Penguin are very popular with the grade school crowd. These are kids that learn to type at the same time they learn to write, so the push to a micro-transaction service isn't that surprising. Parents may not shell out for a subscription for the little ones, but an occasional treat is something a parent might buy the tykes.
That said, the lead sentence is correct, know the sites your kids visit and monitor their use, in person as much as possible. Teaching them safe surfing is going to be a part of the parental ambit.
jcollins
January 28, 2009 at 12:00pm
I wonder how many parents are going to cede "safe surfing" training to the govt. Any new grade school classes out there for "safe surfing"? :)
Queenof1
January 28, 2009 at 3:17pm
but I'm making sure my 12.9 yr knows "safe surfing" as part of his homeschool curriculum. In fact, he's itching to "legally" have a myspace page. He'll be 13 tmrw.
