Webkinz: All About Greed
Loading ...Although I felt that I had a firm grasp on the way things worked in the WebKinz World, I spent some more time throughout this past week exploring the site in hopes of uncovering more redeeming qualities that could potentially counteract its overwhelming focus on promoting consumer culture. Unfortunately however, all I could find was more evidence that the virtual component of Webkinz functions as a mini-capitalist economy, priming children to think first and foremost about getting more money in order to buy more things.
“It feeds into ‘you can never have enough, and the more you have the better it is.’”
While I’ve included proof of the extreme reliance this site places on money, up until this point I thought that after purchasing the first Webkinz toy, real money was no longer NEEDED to fully utilize the components of the site. I was under the impression that, aside from purchasing an additional pet to gain quick kinzcash, one could exist and participate in the virtual world using only virtual money. Therefore, you can expect my surprise when I discovered the following two aspects of the site:
- First off, I encountered the
, and wanted to see what it was all about. However, after clicking on the icon to enter, I was instead greeted with a message indicating that I would need to purchase at least one Webkinz charm in order to gain access to this portion of the site (and not using Kinzcash, I would have to spend real money). And conveniently enough, this message directed me towards the place where I could find a full list of all participating retailers near me. Just as I could not enter the Webkinz World without first buying a stuffed animal to get the access code, there are additional features of the site that remain closed unless you are willing to spend more money on other Webkinz products. But in essence, all you’re buying is an access code, the little charm is there only to help mask this fact. - Secondly, I was very disappointed when I came across the
tab, located in the W Shop. Apparently, there are items in the Webkinz World that no amount of Kinzcash can buy. The only way to attain these elusive goods is to increase the number of pets you adopt (aka = the amount of stuffed animals you beg your parents to buy for you). And the worst thing about this feature is the fact that kids are lured in with knowledge that other Webkinz users will be able to see the special item when they have friends over to visit their virtual room. Therefore, this function not only works to make parents go out and buy more Webkinz, but it acts a status marker for kids within the world; propping those up that are willing to spend and adopt more pets, while pushing down those who don’t/can’t. AND it does all of this using the power leveraged from the potential to own a fake/virtual item that doesn’t even exist! 
“Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers”
As if it’s not enough that the site is obviously designed to sell more Webkinz, I also discovered this week that Ganz, the owner of Webkinz, has begun accepting and running ads for outside products. I have to admit that I’ve only seen two such advertisements (both for food products), but I only began looking for them a couple of days ago, after reading an article about “The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood” - a group that is focused on “Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers.” According to the article, there were Webkinz campaigns that promoted both the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, as well as Bee Movie. 
Now, there are many problems with placing outside advertising on a site that almost exclusively targets young kids. But in focusing on the greed of Ganz, such advertising, as exploitive as it may be, simply translates into more money. Third party advertising is expected when dealing with a site that can be accessed free of charge, as everyone knows that a company must make money in some way or another in order to sustain itself and function.
However, access to the Webkinz site is not free. As aforementioned, it costs money to enter, and additional charges apply depending on where you want to go on the site and what you want to purchase with Kinzcash. And as a result of such charges, parents who purchase Webkinz for their children believe that they are paying not only for access to the site, but for an ad-free environment.
DECEPTION
At this point in my travelogue, I can’t help but acknowledge that I feel deceived by Webkinz, or more specifically, by Ganz. After looking back at my earlier posts when I still had faith in the Webkinz site as honest and educational, it seems that such feelings of betrayal stem, at least to a certain degree, from the covert and hidden manner in which Ganz goes about exploiting children and their parents. The Webkinz site is made to seem innocent, existing primarily as a space where children can learn responsibility, play fun and informative games, and chat with other Webkinz users in a safe and restricted environment. However, it has become abundantly clear throughout my experience with the site that all such features exist only to mask what Ganz is really after: money. They cleverly hook children (and their parents) into spending real money to play with and own non-existent items, while simultaneously molding little kids into top notch consumers with keen eyes for material goods and insatiable hungers to buy, buy, buy. And it’s all successfully done under the guise of good old educational fun.
Comments
The mall near my house is having a Webkinz event and I thought about your intervention…
This is scary because these kids are the first generation to be so immersed in this type of technology. But maybe just like every other generation, it’s a sign of the times and will assimilate so that buying virtual objects for children becomes as normal as buying a puppy.. God, I hope not
This reminds me of how MMORPGs are often referred to as “work simulators”, as much of the impulse for playing is related to acquiring the means to get better and better gear. I guess they’re starting them young…
[...] Katie L. at the New Media Research Studio at NYU hits on my biggest gripe with virtual worlds: [...]
I’ve been wondering how this site would work if you didn’t have to pay for access to everything. What a weird internet business. Do they actually make money? What you said “good old educational fun” is so frustrating to me. I’m still thinking about private schools, how the education system here is so fucked on the public elementary through high school levels and how much my tuition is here at NYU. I get that Webkinz is not supposed to be kids’ primary education, but damn.. parents really pay for their kids to buy virtual stuffed animals? At least if you’re going to instill them with the values of capitalism, let them have the fluffiness of a real live stuffed animal.