Computers are great... Until the mouse turns evil
By: Lynette Pinchess
ANOTHER week, another internet furore. On top of violence, porn, chatrooms, paedophiles,cyber-bulling, we now have Miss Bimbo, a virtual fashion game aimed at seven to 17-year-olds.
Players have to turn a big-boobed blonde - no sexist stereotyping there then - into the "coolest, richest and most famous bimbo in the world".
They do this by dressing her, shopping and finding her a job. Now here's the controversial bit: diet pills and boob ops can be bought with bimbo dollars.
Players are reminded: "We know you want to keep your bimbo waif thin but every girl needs to eat, every now and again."
There's nothing like a bit of hysteria to gain maximum exposure in the national news and encourage every ten-year-old girl in the land to see what all the fuss is about.
The creators describe it as harmless fun, but parents could do without the likes of Miss Bimbo. She's hardly the role model impressionable young girls need, but unfortunately this is a ugly reflection of today's society and its obsession with looks and weight.
What do I do? Ban the computer or sit my daughter down and have a casual chat about body issues and how some people aren't happy in the real world but she's just right and doesn't need to worry about such things? Up until now I've gone for the latter.
This week parents were urged by TV psychologist Tanya Byron to ban computers from their children's bedrooms.
I'm more comfortable with my daughter tapping away on the laptop in the lounge so I can keep a subtle eye on what she's up to. The internet is a fantastic tool when it comes to researching the Romans or European capital cities for homework.
But where there's a pro, there's always a con.
There have been times when she's slyly lowered the lid as I've entered the room. I could see she was on MSN, so I suspect she was telling her friends about the latest embarrassing parental deed, that day's misdemeanours at school or who fancies who.
You can't stand on guard 24/7 so there has to be an element of trust.
We must be doing something right because she told us when a disturbing chain-letter style e-mail arrived in the in-box - sent by a school friend.
We talked about it, agreed it was nonsense, deleted it and warned that she should never send on e-mails like it.
The content was worse than any adult chain letter: "Send to 25 others or you will be killed at midnight by Mickey Mouse..." it began. If it's not a blonde bimbo you're up against, it's a manic mouse. Who said parenting was easy?
Source: Evening Post (Nottinghamshire), Mar 28, 2008, p18
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