Screw G.I. Joe and Barbie, Gimme an iPod

Tech toys fly off the shelves, as young kids imitate grown up gadget lovers
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 29, 2007 10:43 AM CST
Screw G.I. Joe and Barbie, Gimme an iPod
A very small girl is totally proficient on a computer in the Valdez Consortium Library. (LON28382)   (Magnum Photos)

Toddlers are getting their geek on, thanks to the rash of technological toys flying off the shelves this Christmas. The long-stagnant toy industry has found a growing market in kiddie versions of grown-up gadgets like laptops and digital cameras, the Times reports. “Toy companies don’t even call it the toy business anymore,” said an industry journalist. “They’re in the family entertainment business.”

Kids, ever eager to imitate adults, are making best sellers of toys like the EyeClops, a digital camera for six-year-olds. “If you give kids an old toy camera, they look at you like you’re crazy,” said one toy expert. But some see a dark side to kindergarten geekery. “When kids want to play, will they ask, ‘Where’s the screen?’” one pediatrician asked. (More gadget stories.)

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