Talking Barbie

Photo by: Mark Lennihan—AP

On February 17 BBC revealed the breaking news for the toy world: a talking-Barbie project.

The first prototype for the doll appeared in the New York Toy Fair this past February 14. The Barbie connects to the internet and it has two-way conversations with children.

The doll needs Wi-Fi to function properly, but children can still use it the old-fashioned way if they wanted.

The newest toy talks to children through a speech platform provided by ToyTalk. It remembers the conversations, so it can bring things up later on in the day that they spoke about previously.

The talking Barbie also has a name already: Hello Barbie. The price will be around $74.99 when it launches, according to TIME magazine.

Each generation, children have higher expectations about their toys. Our Mattel friends are certainly keeping up with them. "The number one request we hear from girls around the world is that they want to have a conversation with Barbie. Now, for the first time ever, Barbie can have a two-way conversation," a representative for Mattel said according to BBC News.

Students at OU also have an opinion about Hello Barbie. First year LaMoine Tatum said she would not spend any money on that “simply because children need to use their imagination in order to create scenes and that allows them to be more creative”.

She said if you want your children to have a conversation, then they need to have a real conversation. “Kids are so easily persuaded by the answers of this new Barbie and it just loses all the fun,” Tatum said.

First year Brookelynne Towles said if she knew a little girl was going to enjoy and make use of it for $75, and then she would buy it.

Junior Bailey Griffith also has something to say about Hello Barbie. “I think it is an interesting idea. I probably wouldn’t buy it for anyone because I think kids have just as much, if not more fun, using their imagination,” she said. 

It looks like some of our OU students do not agree with the new Mattel project. Do you think our generation is realizing of both the good and bad consequences of technology?

Tell us what you think using the hashtag #HelloBarbieOU. Who knows? We might be encountering a much deeper issue than just a talking doll…