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Story highlights
- Susan Linn: Children find intimacy in the inanimate, using make-believe to express and understand life experiences
- Linn: Hello Barbie allows corporations to record, analyze kids' conversations with the toy, raising a host of ethical and moral issues
Susan Linn is author of "The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World" and a psychologist at Harvard Medical School. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers.
(CNN)Imaginary play is one of childhood's most deeply personal and important activities. Talking to and through their toys allows children the freedom to explore life, try on new roles and express their deepest hopes, fears and dreams. The precious, private space that children inhabit when they play is no place for corporate marketers and eavesdroppers.
That's why Mattel's Wi-Fi connected Hello Barbie is so troubling. The doll will capture what children say in play, beam it to the cloud, and give personalized responses -- something like talking to Siri, the "intelligent assistant" on Apple phones. Mattel representatives say that by recording and analyzing children's play, Hello Barbie will help them learn what children like and dislike, and then push data back at kids.
Susan Linn
I'm a psychologist and a longtime advocate for limiting commercializing of children's play. The true value of playing with dolls, stuffed animals or and any inanimate or imaginary creatures is that it is children who bring them to life, who imbue them with distinct personalities, and transform them as needed into friends, adversaries, champions and more. The silence of make-believe playthings is their most important attribute.
No two children play exactly the same way. One child I played with after his dental appointment transformed a dog puppet into a dentist. Another, facing open heart surgery, transformed the same puppet into a surgeon. Another pretended it was a mother picking her daughter up at day care, a stark contrast to the child who created another "mother" who passively watched as her daughter drowned. Then there was the little girl who used the puppet to express her take on a family dilemma. "My heart is Jewish," she said, "but the rest of my body is Christmas."
Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
Monopoly was first issued by Parker Brothers in 1935, though there is some controversy about who invented the game. Some say it was Charles Darrow during the Depression; others say it was originally Elizabeth Phillips who called it The Landlord's Game, patented in 1904. Like many games and toys, the look has changed over the years.
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Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
Monopoly Empire by Parker Brothers in 2013. More than 275 million games have been sold worldwide, and it's available in 111 countries, in 43 languages.
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Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
The Rubik's Cube: Since its invention by Hungarian professor Erno Rubik in 1974, an estimated 350 million Rubik's Cubes have been sold, and about one in seven people alive has played with the cube, according to its website.
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Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
In 2009, the cube was upgraded to modern times with the Rubik's TouchCube by Techno Source, which bills it as the first completely electronic, solvable Rubik's Cube. The TouchCube is one of many examples of how traditional games are becoming more and more popular in electronic format, from sports like football and baseball to board games like chess and checkers.
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Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
This Barbie Doll by Mattel in 1960 doesn't look quite the same as the ones today (less pink).
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Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
Barbie Fashionistas Doll by Mattel in 2013. Barbie was introduced by Mattel in 1959 and has become a household name. She has fought against mothers and feminists who have condemned her for alleged negative effects on young girls. She has had many incarnations including as an astronaut, doctor and race car drivers.
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Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
Mickey Mouse doll by Steiff Co. circa 1930. The Steiff Company worked with Disney over six years and in that time produced about 53,000 Mickey Mouse dolls.
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Photos: Our childhood toys: Then and now
Mickey's Sorcerer's Apprentice plush souvenir doll by Disney. This well-known mouse has been the face of Disney for years, starting in 1928 when he was created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney.
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