Liam O’Hara
IDS 3250
Dr. Stanovsky
15 October 2012
Tamagotchi:
The Digital Pet
When I think of robots, the first
thing that comes to mind tends to for me at least is the Will Smith Movie,
iRobot or Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator”. The
“good” robots in iRobot were there to take care of their owner and be a helping
hand the same way an assistant would today. The robots demonstrated in Turkle’s
book are not like the robots demonstrated in the movie, they are small and
simple, but as time progressed they became more intellectual and adapted to the
owners wants and needs. The earliest memory that I have of a digital device
that is interactive dates back to the late 1990’s with the very popular Tamagotchi. For me the Tamagotchi was the digital
device that many others and I used as a child that resembled the way I acted
with people and animals. I would get to feed the digital pet at certain times
of the day, clean up after it used the bathroom, help it recover from sickness which
was due to the lack of attention. Also being able to see the Tamagotchi grow
throughout all of the stages of life, ranging from the time it was a baby till
it became a senior. Now looking back on my relationship with the Tamagotchi
device for the first time in years, it seems weird and odd that I had this sort
of relationship with a tiny device that was attached to my keychain, but yet at
the time it felt completely normal and natural. It gradually became more and
more of an important device and I always made sure I took care of the right way
and fed it at certain times and avoided it from being sick. But if someone were
to give me a Tamagotchi now, I don’t think the device would live past a week
with my current busy schedule and lack of interest due to greater technological
improvements in today’s world. And even know while reflecting on the little
machine that is the Tamagotchi, I keep on referring to the device as “it” which
gives the reader the impression that I believe the device is an actual living
thing.
The
Tamagotchi is referred to plenty of times in Sherry Turkle’s “Alone Together”.
Turkle describes the Tamagotchi affect on young children perfectly stating that
“As Tamagotchi’s turn children into caretakers, they teach that digital life
can be emotionally roiling, a place of obligations and regrets.”(pg.31) The way
you interact with the digital pet that is attached to a key chain is very
similar to the way you would interact with a physical, heart-pumping pet. You
are always constantly caring for the digital pet, the same as you would to a
normal pet, you also cater to the needs the same way which includes feeding it
at certain times and cleaning up after it uses the bathroom. Having an early
appreciation for a digital pet, such as the Tamagotchi, can have a positive
affect on the way that person would interact with a human being or pet animal.
It teaches the young children how to care and take after an object, even if it
is stemmed from looking after a digital pet. It teaches the young
responsibility due to the fact that the digital device can die if not given
enough of attention. These are both great values that the Tamagotchi and other
digital pets, devices, robots, and software are teaching the young children.
When
first reading Sherry Turkle’s Book “Alone Together”, it took me some time to
understand the relationship the people had with these devices such as “AIBO”
and “My Real Baby.” What really caught
my attention was when the elderly people interacted with the ‘My Real Baby”
doll. I initially thought that it was weird and odd that people who haven’t
given birth to a child in the past 40-50 years, found comfort in and enjoyed
taking care of the baby doll. The way
that the elderly interact and took care of the “My Real Baby” is exactly the same,
as they would interact with a normal baby child. But then after examining the
situation, it’s similar to my experience with taking care of the Tamagotchi. You
always try to satisfy the need of anything no matter what the object is. When
the Tamagotchi is hungry, you feed it because it is a need and it is something
you want to satisfy. And through learning and interacting like this at a young
age provides a better foundation for how the person will react with future
people.The
Tamagotchi is just one of many digital pets, devices, robots, and software that
resembled the way that people interact with people today. Throughout “Alone
Together” Turkle conducts studies with different groups testing out the “AIBO”,
”My Real “Baby”, “Kismet”, “Cog” and many others. Each one of these digital
services provide a sense of connection through every age group and it shows
that we interact with these devices the same way we do with people.
