📘 Part 3: Toys

This episode's vocabulary

Advancement (noun) - the development or improvement of something.

To induce (verb) - to persuade someone to do something.

To entice (verb) - to persuade someone to do something by offering them something pleasant.

To moan (verb) - to make a long, low sound of pain, suffering, or another strong emotion.

Ingenious (adj.) - (of a person) very intelligent and skilful, or (of a thing) skilfully made or planned and involving new ideas and methods.

Flyer (noun) - a small piece of paper with information on it about a product or event.

Billboard (noun) - a very large board on which advertisements are shown, especially at the side of a road.

Bulk buying (noun) - the activity of buying large quantities of a product, especially to get cheaper prices.

Feasible (adj.) - able to be made, done, or achieved.

Pitfall (noun) - a likely mistake or problem in a situation.

Leeway (noun) - freedom to act within particular limits.

Dichotomous (adj.) - involving two completely opposing ideas or things.

Fleeting (adj.) - short or quick.

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Questions and Answers

M: So, what toys are popular with boys and girls in your country today?

R: Despite all the technological advancements, I was surprised to discover not much has changed for kids nowadays. This was when I was on my placement. They seem largely into similar toys that we had access to before, like models of animals, stuffed or otherwise, and other such things. And they all rather like building too from what I've discovered, even something as simple as wooden blocks is a popular choice. So I think that's true with children everywhere really, actually.

M: How do advertisements influence children?

R: Well, I suspect they induce or entice them to moan to their parents to buy them, well, the things that they want. Advertising is basically corporate propaganda, isn't it? And it works. They see the toys being used, and they want to use them, and then they annoy their parents into getting them. It's as depressing as it is ingenious, really. Although I hope parents are getting wise to the fact that that's how it works.

M: What do companies do to get people to buy their toys and not somebody else's toys?

R: Well, like I said, advertising and marketing on any medium you care to name from flyers to billboards, to just regular television adverts. They can also have sales with discounts and offers, especially if they want to encourage bulk buying.

M: Do some parents spend too much money on toys?

R: I'm tempted to say yes, straight up. But really I have no idea or any way to say for certain, since I'm not an expert. I mean, how do you decide how much is too much? If I were to guess, I'd say it's a definite possibility, especially compared to the past when people had less money and fewer resources than now.

M: Should advertising aimed at children be prohibited?

R: I don't really think that's feasible, do you? How can you actually prove whether something is targeted at young people or adults? I suppose you could argue that the tone of the adverts might be enough, though the counterargument might be that adverts show the toys in action. It's probably more practical to raise awareness of the pitfalls of such adverts and set boundaries with children instead.

M: But do you think that such advertisements could be banned in the future?

R: I doubt that. If anything, corporations are being granted in increasingly more leeway as the years go by. So I expect the opposite to happen. I expect it to be encouraged.

M: Do you think parents should buy more toys for their kids or spend more time with them?

R: I'm not sure it's a dichotomous choice. But if I had to choose one for everybody, then I'd say it's better to spend time with your children than to give them more stuff. Our lives are so fleeting, and time spent together on family activities are so precious, it would be a waste not to capitalize on it while we can.

M: What's the difference between toys kids play with now and those they played with in the past?

R: Well, I think the most obvious is the role that technology plays in their creation and use since, well, many of them are mass-produced or have some sort of electronic or digital component. Though there are other aspects to consider. There's greater interaction and competition and thought put into the product development sides. For example, lots of toys have a backstory as is the case with lots of Lego.

M: And what about the future? Do you think toys will be different in the future?

R: Well, they'll probably take different forms alongside those that already are sold because they already are quite popular, but people like to have diversity in that sense.

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