Study: Whyville Has Cheat Sites! Cyberbullying & Cheating in Online Worlds a Surprising Problem

Alana Semuels has an article this week in the Los Angeles Times detailing the surprising level of cyberbullying and cheating kids engage in while online. Despite chat safeguards in place in such kid-friendly worlds like Club Penguin (owned by Disney), Neopets (owned by Viacom), and Whyville (owned by Numedeon), kids often engage in cheating activities and bullying behavior. One example: account passwords are pilfered, often given by the victims in promised exchange for more virtual money or accouterments.

Even heavily restricted chat functions present levels of monitoring difficulties, as youngsters find creative ways to bypass profanity filters. Whyville flags children exchanging personal information such as their real names or phone numbers. The company blocks about 10 accounts a day due to violations.

Semuels notes UCLA doctoral student Deborah Fields and Dr. Yasmin Kafai wrote a paper on the topic for the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA 2007). The paper is an analysis of cheat sites designed for Whyville, examining 257 sites and following one in particular over the course of eight months.

According to the paper and Whyville staff, Whyville veterans often haze newcomers by demanding rent, even though apartments there are free. Other players have figured out a combination of keyboard commands that allows them to jump into the virtual cars of strangers, which is normally allowed only through invitation. Users have claimed that elections for the Whyville Senate were rigged through stuffing of virtual ballot boxes.

Some players took advantage of an outbreak of Whypox – a virtual plague that causes avatars to sneeze and break out in boils – by selling cures that turned out to be fake.

Cheating and online thievery can go to extremes at times, such as the recent case of a teen in Habbo stealing €4000 worth of virtual furniture.

So the question arises: Are kids who figure out ways to part others of their virtual cash displaying tendencies toward larceny, or are they simply more intelligent than those who part with their cash? Certainly deception is not good, but convincing others to invest in a for-profit scheme seems a reasonable exercise. This makes for a very interesting field of study.

References:
Fields, D. A., & Kafai, Y. B. (under review). Stealing from grandma or generating cultural knowledge? Contestations and effects of cheats in a teen virtual world. Paper submitted to DiGRA07. [Online]. Available: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kafai/paper/
whyville_pdfs/DIGRA07_cheat.pdf

Semuels, A. (2008, July 2). In virtual worlds, child avatars need protecting – from each other. Los Angeles Times. [Online]. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/02/business/fi-kidssafe2

Virtual Worlds for Children Survive and Thrive

Research is percolating around virtual worlds designed specifically with children in mind. While Club Penguin and Webkinz grab the lion’s share of press, this article notes a total of 158 virtual worlds or online playgrounds for kids worldwide.

The subscription volume is amazing. Habbo: 90 million subscribers. Neopets: 45 million. Club Penguin and Star Doll: 15 million each.

Some interesting quotes from industry officials are also included in the article.

For Mr Seiler [editor of Virtual World News] this popularity is based on three factors: friends, freedom and fun.

“One reason virtual worlds are extremely compelling is that they offer a way to get out of the house and reconnect with friends after their curfew hours,” said Mr Seiler.

The virtual worlds also give kids great freedom to express themselves.

“For kids, though, when they don’t have as many options in real life to decide what their house looks like, what type of clothes to wear, or where they go, virtual worlds must seem like a whole new land of opportunity,” he said.

Finally, he said, these virtual worlds are enjoyable places to be.

“Successful virtual worlds encourage creativity, imagination, and fun,” he said. “That’s pretty appealing to any kid.”

References:

BBC News (2008, May 9). Boom times for virtual playgrounds. [Online.] Retrieved May 20, 2008 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7390218.stm

Viacom Embraces Casual Gaming

Why would kids want to watch Dora the Explorer when they could actually BE Dora the Explorer? Such questions ensnare Viacom, owner of Nickelodeon and MTV networks. The company plans to spend $100 million on casual games, according to this NY Times story.

Grunwald Associates is indicated in the article as noting in a study that young folks engage in TV and their related websites simultaneously. Several other interesting statistics are published in the article, such as:

The N, Nickelodeon’s teenage network, has dozens of games for children aged 12 to 17. Slightly younger players are directed to Nick.com, which drew an average of 7.9 million visitors in February and is expected to add 185 games this year. The youngest players of all are welcome on the sites of Nick Jr. and Noggin, where games are meant to be played by children “on the laps of their moms,” Ms. [MTV Networks’ Nickelodeon Kids and Family group President Cyma] Zarghami said.

This same company owns Neopets, the Shockwave gaming site, and the Nick.com arcade. Many interesting factoids and tidbits for researchers are found in this article, and it’s well worth the read.

References:
Stelter, B. (2008, March 18). Online games by the hundreds, with tie-ins. The New York Times. [Online.] Retrieved March 17, 2008 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/business/media/18adco.html?_
r=1&ex=1363492800&en=78d59ce77ce71d4b&ei=5088&partner=
rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

First Hello Kitty, Then NeoPets, Now JewelPets

The Wall Street Journal notes in a recent article that Sega Toys and Sanrio Co., seeking to capitalize on past successes like Hello Kitty, are coming out with a line called JewelPet. The line of toys and other merchandise will focus on girls, each of 33 pets associated with a different jewel. The article states that “Internet and mobile related business” will be part of the marketing and merchandise brew, so look for another effort at capturing tween’s attention online, perhaps in a virtual world ala Webkinz.

For a look at other upcoming tween virtual worlds, check out Izzy Neis’ blog entry here.

References
Kachi, H. (2008, Jan. 16). Sega Toys, Sanrio craft successor to ‘Hello Kitty’. The Wall Street Journal. p. B14.