Remember those lyrics – “I’m a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie World . . . Life in plastic, it’s fantastic”?  Sure, I’ll admit that I do.  But I spent most of my childhood years playing with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers action figures.  I was more concerned with Master Splinters and Megatrons than with Kens and Dream Houses.  Yet I still know the song, and I’d venture to guess that most everyone does.  If not, they definitely know Barbie.  From toddlers to grandparents, all of us – regardless of age or gender – know who she is.  And that’s the point: We really do live in a Barbie World.  Whether we’re active participants, or casual by-standers, we are indeed living in it.  Well hey, haven’t you heard?  That world is changing, and it won’t be the same again.

 (a snapshot of the interactive Barbie Channel)

Please say hello to the newest Barbie for our digital age.  An article from Advertising Age explains how since October 2008, Mattel – the company that produces the Barbie dolls – has been running an interactive “channel” (more of an interactive web portal) on cable television that is all things Barbie.  This channel functions as a one-stop-shop where viewers can get videos of Barbie on demand, play games, and immerse themselves in the “Barbie World” experience.  Now Mattel is gearing up to launch yet another Barbie Channel on AT&T’s U-Verse starting this October.  One channel; now another.  So why the forward progression?  Mattel has found that between September 2009 and April 2010 they were effectively reaching their targeted audience of girls, and they’ve got the numbers to prove it.  Girls were spending about seventeen minutes per day interacting with the Barbie channel and 17.7 million consumers were viewing the Barbie webpage.  Of course, their 2010 sales were looking pretty good, too.  With such strong numbers backing up their efforts, the new Barbie Channel is estimated to reach an expected 19 million people.  Don’t be surprised if in the near future you witness more marketers turning to this new trend of interactive television.  This same article shows how according to the findings of a survey of 100 national marketers conducted by the Association for National Advertisers and Forrester Research, 75% of the respondents said they thought interactive television would be the next big source of marketing and advertising.  Break out the Dream Houses everyone ‘cause Barbie’s coming home.

So what are the potential implications of such an expanded Barbie World?  If things shift from being a Barbie World to a Barbie Universe, where does that leave us?  Barbie, and her maker Mattel, have for years come under fire, with concerned parents and advocacy groups questioning whether Barbie is a responsible role model for young girls.  For the most part, we’ve all heard the basic general complaint that Barbie is too perfect and that this causes lower self-esteem among girls who wish to, but can’t (for obvious physiological reasons) emulate her appearance.  It seems only natural that citizens of this new digital Barbie World will again pose the same questions.  That’s not to say that people shouldn’t do so.  It is vital for consumers, especially parents, to examine this new trend of interactive television – not limited to solely Barbie, mind you, but everything their children may potentially watch.

Was the creation of the Barbie Channel a responsible decision on the part of Mattel?  On the one hand, one cannot blame Mattel for doing business; it’s what they are, after all.  Does anyone blame Apple for creating the iPhone?  Most likely the answer is no.  However, it probably won’t be too surprising if Mattel and the Barbie Channel come under attack yet again.  “They’re targeting children in a whole new way, which will in turn make them feel bad because they don’t look like Barbie.”  “Mattel is invading our homes with ads for products and toys to make themselves richer.”  These may be two hypothetical complaints regarding the launch of the new Barbie Channel.  Is Mattel is doing at least one thing right, though?  In one instance, they are bringing parents into the process and offering a way for them to request information about Barbie through the interactive channel with the click of a button.  They want everyone to be involved in the Barbie experience.  Win the parents over, win the kids – that’s their mentality.  Should Mattel be congratulated?  It’s difficult to say.  While they do provide parents with requested information about Barbie and her products, Mattel is providing a host of other things – products, ideas, and feelings – to the children who, one could argue, do most of the actual television viewing.  And these offerings are loaded with potentials risks – risks that will soon be accessible with the press of a button on the remote control.  Is this responsibility?  Providing children with an interactive channel that seemingly fulfills their every Barbie desire, while promoting Barbie products within an inclusive Barbie world comes close to resembling a kind of hypnotism.  There’s got to be some lasting effects from all this Barbie exposure at such a high, interactive level.  So is this healthy for kids?  They might as well be making their products with poisoned plastic parts.

Earlier it was mentioned that the usual questions of self-esteem will again surface in the face of a new digital Barbie.  Let’s examine some of the potential risks.  First off, with increased interactive exposure to Barbie through various means such as videos and games, one must be sure to monitor the self-concept of the channel’s viewers, which have the potential to be altered.  Children watching the new digital Barbie may be more inclined to create a negative self-concept of themselves due to the highly interactive nature of the channel.  Negative self-concepts existed back when it was only toys, so imagine how it will be in the new world of on-demand videos and interactive play: the effects of these risks may be multiplied in their strength and influence.  These kids may wonder if they are pretty enough, or why they aren’t blonde.  In addition, there may be increased desires to fulfill symbolic needs – this includes everything from purchasing the latest Barbie products and toys to even buying make-up so as to look like Barbie – so that these girls will feel pretty enough.  An increased motivation to acquire these products will eventually occur.  Wanting new toys in not inherently bad, of course.  Yet if this desire becomes paramount to a child’s maintaining high self-esteem, a line has been crossed, and a psychological risk could potentially develop.  In the short-term, it may be that parents spend a little extra money on Barbie products so their kids stay happy; in the long-term, however, the cost may be a question of more than mere dollars and cents.  As will be seen next, the risks do not stop once children reach adulthood.  In fact, they may become life-long ghosts that haunt Barbie-stricken individuals.

Issues of low self-concept, unfulfilled symbolic needs, and psychological risks that stem from Barbie exposure can extend into adulthood and cause people to drastically alter their outward appearance.  There is even a term of this affliction known as the Barbie Syndrome.  An article from CBS News illustrates how in one case, a woman was reported as having undergone 31 plastic surgeries over the course of 14 years (the cost coming close to $100,000) in order to come closer to resembling Barbie.  Spending over $100,000 on 31 surgeries!  When is it too much?  The woman who underwent these procedures stated that at age 6 she looked at a Barbie doll and wanted to be like her, seeing Barbie as glamorous.  The article states, according to the woman who had the surgeries, “’I just wanted to look better,’” she says.  “’Barbie was the blank canvas I filled in all those years ago.  It was still my role model.’”  Bull’s-eye, folks!  When Barbie becomes the role model for looks for any person – there is a Ken Syndrome, too, gents – there is an inherent problem with the values it is sending to consumers.  This case occurred years ago, before the advent of the interactive Barbie Channel.  With a result like this that speaks for itself, what does it say about the implications of an entire channel devoted to Barbie that’s targeting girls ages 2 and up?  Well, for one, plastic surgeons may soon be cashing larger checks.  Here’s the overarching issue of the interactive Barbie Channel: it increases the ability for young girls to immerse themselves in Barbie, and come out of the experience with feelings of inadequacy.  Before, one had to actually acquire the doll, open it, and play with it for this psychological process to take place.  Now it’s as easy as clicking a button.  Less time can have major implications for the young generations.  This isn’t a Barbie you can hide in the toy box anymore.

Tomorrow’s Barbie World is here.  Like it or hate it, there is no real escaping it.  There hasn’t been any escaping from Barbie since it was first created back in 1959.  It’s part of our culture, and world culture for that matter.  But does that mean we should lower our defenses just because something is familiar?  I know my neighborhood, but I still lock my doors at night.  The implication is simple: a life in plastic is NOT so fantastic.