Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Nickelodeon has built a safe, if not boring and simple, virtual community for kids to hang out in -- equipped with games, animations, and chat rooms. Its creators have gone to great lengths to form a community that'll be restrictive enough (limitations on words and personal information that can be used in chat rooms) that parents can feel good about letting their kids surf around unsupervised. The site has minimal banner ads, but kids can easily click over to Nickelodeon's home page and be exposed to ads and loads of promotional gunk.
Families can talk about online safety and what's appropriate to share on a Web site. You can also discuss how to apply the social skills you learned in the virtual world to life offline: How would you approach a new friend? What would you do if someone was bothering you? Families can talk to older kids about how sites market their own television shows and merchandise.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Angela Freeman
"Hey, meet me at the Krusty Krab!" That's one line kids can use to make friends at NICKTROPOLIS.COM, a virtual community and digital playground that allows kids to interact with each other in real time. Nickelodeon's site includes games, animations, interactive environments, and Nick characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Jimmy Neutron, all inhabiting an online world that kids' avatars can explore.
Nicktropolis is divided into four areas: NickName Lane, where kids hang out in their own "room" (or visit a friend's) and trick it out with furniture and knickknacks purchased using NickPoints (gained by exploring the site and playing games). Downtown Nicktropolis boasts parks, lounges, rec centers, and stores. The Pier offers a haunted house and carnival games such as bumper cars. And Nicktoons Boulevard is where Nickelodeon characters show videos and animations, help you pick up some extra points, or just chat.
And chat is definitely where it's at in Nicktropolis. Sure, it has all the other trappings of kids' entertainment -- games, video, customizable avatars -- but the site was clearly designed to offer a safe place for kids to do what they love best: hang out and shoot the breeze.
The good news is that several safeguards are in place to keep kids protected from would-be online predators. First, parents must approve their child's membership and level of chat capability. The highest level limits kids to chatting with pre-written messages they select from a list. It's a nice idea, but there's nothing stopping a kid from using an alternate email address to masquerade as a parent and turn that setting off.
But even if a kid fiddles with the chat settings, the site still offers a heavy level of protection against inappropriate talk by using its own dictionary. The chat software won't allow red-flag words, or even certain combinations of everyday words. This can be frustrating at times; when chatting with Jimmy Neutron, you may not be able to type the word "doing," as in "what are you doing?" The chat application also won't allow you to type in email addresses, city or state names, or even most proper names. This can make for cumbersome chatting, but tech-savvy kids will come up with workarounds faster than you can say "BRB" (that's "be right back" for those not in the know!).
Fans of this site might also enjoy Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom and TurboNick.com.
Reviewed: 02/05/2007
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Social BehaviorPromotes making and chatting with friends. |
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CommercialismNickPoints (gained by exploring the site and playing games) are used to buy virtual things on the site. There's an online store, but not for real merchandise. Plus, there's lots of marketing for Nickelodeon shows, and links to Nick.com, which has ads. |
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Educational ValueThe site offers a way to communicate and network with friends. Some of the games require a sense of timing. |
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