Club Penguin - Reception and Criticism

Reception and Criticism

Club Penguin has received positive reviews and criticism: the site has been used as a positive model when training police in Canada, and it was awarded a "kids' privacy seal of approval" from the Better Business Bureau. Similarly, Brian Ward, a Detective Inspector at the Child Abuse Investigation Command in the United Kingdom, stated that he would far rather children experience a system such as Club Penguin before moving into social networking sites, which provide less protection. In terms of simple popularity, the rapid growth of Club Penguin suggests considerable success, although there are signs that this is leveling out. Nielsen figures released in April, 2008 indicated that in the previous 12 months Club Penguin traffic had shrunk by 7%.

A criticism expressed by commentators is that the game encourages consumerism and allows players to cheat. While Club Penguin does not require members to purchase in-game products with real-life money (instead relying on a set monthly fee), players are encouraged to earn coins within the game with which to buy virtual products. In addition, the "competitive culture" that this can create has led to concerns about cheating, as children look for "shortcuts" to improve their standing, and, it is suggested, this may influence their real-world behavior. In the game's defense, Club Penguin has added guidelines to prevent cheating, and bans players who are caught cheating or who are encouraging cheating. The use of in-game money has been commented on as possibly helping teach children how to save money, select what to spend it on, improve their abilities at math, and encourage them to "practice safe money-management skills".

In spite of the attempts to create a safe space for children in Club Penguin, concerns about safety and behavior still arise within the media. While the language in-game is filtered, discussions outside of Club Penguin are beyond the owner's control, and thus it has been stated that third-party Club Penguin forums can become "as bawdy as any other chat". But even within the game, some commentators have noted that "cyberbullying" can still occur, with flame wars potentially occurring within the game; and the "Caste system" between those who have membership and items and those who lack full membership, (and therefore are unable to own the "coolest" items), can lead to players having a hard time attracting friends.

One criticism came from Caitlin Flanagan in The Atlantic Monthly: in relation to the safety procedures, she noted that Club Penguin is "certainly the safest way for unsupervised children to talk to potentially malevolent strangers—but why would you want them to do that in the first place?" While views of the strength of this criticism may vary, the concern was mirrored by Lynsey Kiely in the Sunday Independent, who quoted Karen Mason, Communications Director for Club Penguin, as saying "we cannot guarantee that every person who visits the site is a child."