Unfortunately, as I sat down to sign-up for one of these systems, a very real and very alive cat stuck her tail in my face, reminding me it was time to pay attention to her. My cat, Yin Yang, is good at making sure I get off the computer to pay attention to her. She s the smaller of our two cats and the more demanding one as well. If you saw her, you d swear she was still 6 months old. Yet, closing in on her fourth birthday, she definitely runs the house.
Virtual pets can simulate the care, attention, and time it takes to have a pet.
But in many ways, they can never replace real life pets. No virtual pet can ever curl into my lap while I type away at the computer. No virtual pet will be by my side when I m upset, regardless of if I go to her or not. No virtual pet will ever be insistent enough to get me off the computer. There are just some things that are best left for the real world.