The following are some of the features children use on virtual world sites. Related warning and suggestions to prevent danger and abuse are included later in this paper.
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Features
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Description
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Sociable |
Build Profile |
Input information about themselves. In many virtual worlds (e.g Club Penguin and BarbiesGirlds) the experience is intended to be anonymous, so children are not allowed to share or exchange any personal information with a third party online, and provide minimum information to the service provider, such as the parent’s email address. |
Interact with others |
Share information and ideas with other users through chat, blogs, instant messaging, discussion forums and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) features. |
Creative |
Create avatar |
Choose a graphic image to represent themselves and establish their identity in the virtual world. |
Play games |
Challenge their brains and provide activities to take part in online. Often there is a virtual reward to encourage them to play. |
Respond to quizzes |
Challenges such as brain training, generally with a reward of some kind for participation. Also provides, competition between friends or group or friends in the form of “leaderboards”. |
Control |
Make drawing, animation, comic strips and gadgets |
Also called UCG or User-Generated Content, many children enjoy creating their own content to share with their community, and thrive creativity when collaborating with others in their virtual community. |
Create content ranging from music and dance to video
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Self-publishing has opened up to all ages and can be an excellent creative outlet. |
Buy Product |
Some services may allow users to purchase products or services using real money. |
Upload photos or any others information |
Some services may allow children to upload photos and information. Some will filter for personal and/or other inappropriate content. |
See advertisement about product/services |
Virtual worlds that are free are often supported by advertising. |
-Excerpted from Gauntlett, David and Lizzie Jackson, Virtual worlds - Users and producers, Case study: Adventure Rock, Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster, UK. |
