A Class Review

This is a short review of two like papers in my class.

Visiativity wrote on the influences of Tomogachi, a small virtual pocket pet that was big in the 90's. My favorite part of the paper is when he talks about the advantages of a virtual pet when it does not require commitments.
"You interact with Tamagotchis as if it was a real human being, but you do not have to have any level of intimacy invested in them... These devices are perfect for individuals who seek companionship or the feeling of being wanted, but are too scared to achieve that. These devices cannot let you down, cannot hurt you, and cannot embarrass you, as real people can. They offer the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. What they provide, not only entertains us, but it meets our human vulnerabilities."
The creators of such devices were truly working to create a perfect toy for kids; a device to give attention and love, one that can imitate life yet require less responsibility for it. This greatly reflects Turkle's isolation-like thinking as we indulge ourselves in such machines.


Brandon has not posted his paper as of yet, so I read Nick's. He generalizes all virtual toys, specifically focusing on Nintendogs. He goes to state that, "It is my belief that as a society we need to educate the youth on what is reality, and furthermore, we must impose boundaries between man and technology." His paper tries to inform us that such toys are inadequate for teaching our younger generations how to properly care for living beings and possibly our own emotions. It is his hope that people will grow to depend on each other more and less on technology as Sherry Turkle stresses.