Virtual Children: The Future? [Probably Not]

Remember when I said I couldn’t make this stuff up? Here’s an example. The other day I got an email prompt from Facebook – social network cum app sharing site.

I logged in, and as usual my long-dormant account had accumulated various requests. Friend requests, comment requests, request requests, but this one was new to me. I had a Godfather request. What?

Well, we’ve had various forms of online life before. Remember Second Life?

Anyway, it was an invite to create a baby with a friend I had on Facebook. It struck me as slightly odd, as well as strange, but you can actually create, care for, and buy stuff for your virtual offspring. Creepy thing number 1.

So, I thought; I’ll bite, and I followed the instructions to create Alex, a 0 year old virtual baby who, and I quote:

“I like fun! I live in a big old house on a sunny street in Chessapeak, with a white picket fence and my cat, Mittens. I love going to school and playing violin, and dad says I’m going to Yale or Stam-stan-stamford I drive my dad mad with all my questions, too “

There are three variables that are viewable from the frontpage; Health, Hunger and Happiness.

Creepy thing number 2. You can invite your friends on Facebook to be relatives of the newly created ebay ebaby, Alex now has two parents, various uncles, and an auntie.

Get this, you can even spend your Baby Bucks – virtual currency that you earn by taking care of your digital little one – on accessories, food, access to things like Art Class and the ‘Children’s Museum’.

Either way, I’ve had one of these for 1.5 days, and I’ve put her to bed, sent her to art class, dropped her off at day care, picked her up, hugged her, and played peekaboo with her, and I’m not bored yet.

Get one here, or check out mine.