Virtual Playgrounds

Unlike Facebook,kid-centric sites,like Togetherville for young children and Everloop for teens,involve parents in signing-up and monitoring their child’s activity. “They are like virtual classrooms for children. They are definitely not 100 per cent free from risks that internet can pose,but offer space that can provide an information base,build on social skills and help them to develop creativity,” says Rishav Singla,an IT expert,who has recently started his company Qcabs.com,and has made an account for his seven-year-old nephew on Clubpenguin.com,a cutesy virtual world where animated penguins with alter egos go sledding to make buddies.

Billed as a cross between Facebook and a virtual pet game Tamagotchi,Moshi Monsters too is gaining popularity. Here,a group of super-cute ‘scary’ monsters,have to be taken care of by the user and solve a puzzle everyday. “Children learn how to perform better. Since these are sites for children,they do not invite adult predators,” says Rahul Sinha,a UIET student,who is working on a gaming application for iPhone,and has been following the site for the last six months.

Also high on the list of pre-teen networking sites is Stardoll.com,a virtual doll dressing-up and designing site. It has an option called the Kid Safe Membership,which allows young girls to access all doll-related games and features. They can access other members’ albums but they can’t write anything on their own or use the message centre to communicate with other members. Another popular site is Scuttlepad.com,which is for children aged between six and eleven. It gives children the chance to learn the basics about social networking but doesn’t let them upload photos.

But for parents,who like to be informed about all the interactions that children have and be in control of the friend selection process,Togetherville is an option to consider,along with Everloop. Everloop lets children create profiles,chat with friends,play games and upload media,all in closed content loops. These loops,require parents to choose the activities their children can participate in. Its security system automatically blocks things like phone numbers,addresses and swear words from being posted to the site.

“With controversies ripe about risks that social networking sites can pose and claims of a recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics that state social networking as a help tool for socialisation and communication skills,the option of logging on or not is an individual’s prerogative. But preteen social networking sites are comparatively safer,” says Professor Adarsh Kohli,psychologist at PGI.