What was your favorite toy when you were a child? A survey of children fifteen years ago probably wouldn’t have included computers as toys. But these days, “toy” and “electronic gadget” are sharing a lot of territory. Both girls and boys prefer virtual toys and games to physical ones. 

Adrian Voce OBE, a former director of Play England, said it was unlikely that dolls would ever die out completely.

“Dolls may no longer be the top toy for girls but I don’t see them dying out anytime soon,” he said. “Children like to play in ways that allows them to replicate an adult’s world and dolls allow them to do this. The dolls can play the roles of different people in children’s real or fantasy life and they can play a parent-figure.”

It seems unfair to compare videogames, which cover a vast array of preferences (included play with virtual dolls and virtual bulding tools), but it appears the study was more interested in pitting videogames against other toys, when play is a bit more complex than “virtual or non-virtual.” 

[via Game Politics] [img]