Are toys today more, or less interactive than they were in the 1960s and 1970s? In looking for a Christmas present for my nephew, I noticed that a lot of toys ‘do things’. Push a button and all the kid has to do is watch it do something. And my nephew loves to play video games. When I was a kid I had to construct my Hot Wheels track, put the car in the gate, release it, and then retrieve it. On the other hand I had a Power House – I think it was called – that used rotating wheels to send cars around an oval track. I had an SSP. Pull the T-handle, and off it went. I had to chase it down. I had a slot car set, but it got a little dull when I realised all it did was go round and round. (BTW, I’m not a NASCAR fan.) Army men didn’t do anything, until my friends and I would stage battles by setting up lines and throwing things at them. (Whoever’s men were all knocked down first lost.)
Today there are still Tonka trucks, Hot Wheels, and other toys that need to be constructed, chased down, or manually moved about. But then I see my nephew’s preference for video games and the other toys that basicall play with themselves. So: Are toys today more, or less interactive than they were in the 1960s and 1970s?