From Elise in Silver Spring: We gave our niece a WebKinz for the holidays. Now that we have given her one and she’s had it for awhile, do you think it is a gateway to internet addiction?
Thanks to Elise, the theme this week is WebKinz!
What are WebKinz ? These aren’t your child’s ordinary stuffed animals. They are virtual pets. Remember the Tamagotchis? WebKinz are similar but these plush pets are taken to a whole new level thanks to the internet.
Each 8 1/2 inch tall WebKinz possesses its own tag containing a unique secret code which allows the owner to create an online WebKinz World for their virtual pet. What in the world is WebKinz World??? When a WebKinz is adopted, its owner goes online to enter in the pet’s unique code. This starts the “adoption” process by naming the pet and stating its gender.
After the pet is adopted, the owner can access WebKinz World. Here they receive basic necessities to care for their pet such as 2000 in KinzCash, a room, a piece of furniture, and a welcome balloon. Like all pets, WebKinz virtual pets require care in the form of happiness, hunger, and health. Owners care for their pets by playing with their WebKinz in the online WebKinz World.
Ok, now what is KinzCash???
KinzCash is the online currency of WebKinz World. Money makes the world go ’round and in this case, WebKinz World revolves around KinzCash. Owners earn KinzCash by playing games in the arcade and taking quizzes. Hard earned KinzCash can be used to buy more items to enhance the quality of the WebKinz ‘s life.
Have I lost you yet???
As a WebKinz free family, I was bewildered by WebKinz, the WebKinz World, and Kinzcash. To me it sounded like the drive to earn KinzCash for one’s WebKinz could turn into some form of online gaming for children. But since Little Miss Techie does not own a WebKinz, I turned to trusted sources to assist me in answering Elise’s question- the DC Urban Moms listserv.
DC Urban Moms were happy to share their WebKinz experiences with me so be sure to come back and read Tech Savvy Mama again tomorrow when I share their collective wisdom during another day of WebKinz week!
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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