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PowerPoint Slides: the New Puppy-Dog Eyes
In hopes of receiving exactly what she wants for Christmas this year, Katie Johnsen, 11, created a Power Point presentation to show her parents what's on her wish list.
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AOL Instant Messenger -- the preferred communication tool for teens and tweeners -- recently introduced a feature called the ShoppingBuddy. It searches for products online, then lists competing prices and links where they can be bought.
"OK, I'm searching for matches 4 U," it says in response to queries. "Gimme a sec . . .."
Charlotte Sullivan, 11, of Chevy Chase types her wish list and e-mails it to friends so they can keep track of who is asking for what. For example, she's angling for a pink North Face fleece jacket -- not to be confused with the blue one that her friend Katie Johnsen wants or the pink half-zip Old Navy Performance Fleece jacket on her friend Jane Lindahl's list.
"Hey here's my x-mas list just fyi!! Wats urs? Bye! ttyl sys lyl!" 10-year-old Jane e-mailed to Charlotte. (Translation: "Talk to you later, see you soon, love ya lots!")
Charlotte has struggled to reconcile the idea of Santa's elves crafting toys with the pink mini iPod on her list -- which is clearly from Apple Computer Inc., not the North Pole. So she's decided to turn that one over to her parents and instead ask Old St. Nick for more traditional presents.
"Santa has to make his gifts," she said firmly.
The Internet functions as kids' virtual shopping mall. Jenny Winer, a 16-year-old from Colorado who was shopping at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City on Friday afternoon, said shopping online "takes away the embarrassment of walking around the mall with your parents for three hours showing them what you want."
She celebrates Hanukkah and said she has e-mailed relatives her list with links to specific CDs. Her friend, 16-year-old Erica Cahn, said she researches her Hanukkah presents online but has to handwrite a list for her mother.
"My mom is technologically retarded, so it doesn't work," she said.
Adults have ceded ground to kids when it comes to technology, said Rob Callender, trends director for Teenage Research Unlimited, a consulting firm.
"Increasingly, teens are considered the most techno-savvy members of the household," Callender said. "Parents have kind of thrown up their hands."
Yoshi and Zen said they once asked their grandmother for a GameBoy for Christmas. When she got to the store, she bought them a video game that was useless without the GameBoy.
