Hello, hello, dear listener, and welcome into IELTS Speaking Part 3.
We're talking about toys.
What an interesting topic.
Dear listener, no, not for you.
Well, okay.
Rory is a super expert on toys.
Well, not far off.
When I worked in a creative design department um a few years ago, we had to make toys for kids and i did not design the toys or make them myself.
I contributed material and there were other more talented people doing that.
But i did notice some things.
At least i picked up a few things.
Let's talk about toys.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of modern toys?
I honestly don't know.
I'm not exactly au fait with the ins and outs of product design these days.
But at a guess, I suppose they might be more interactive with all the technology integrated into them, which could make them more fun to play with.
On the other hand, it might make them more expensive as a result.
What's the difference between the toys boys play with and girls play with?
Well, actually I remember reading something somewhere that it's less about what they play with and more about how they play with them.
So, for example, girls are generally more likely to play with dolls in a cooperative play like playing house, while boys tend to engage in more competitive or mock aggressive play with their versions of dolls.
You could probably best see that in the difference between things like Barbie and Action Man.
Do you think parents should buy more toys for their kids or spend more time with them?
Oh, I'm definitely of the firm belief that parents need to spend more time with their kids.
It helps them to socialise and builds secure bonds and reduces mental and physical issues.
If you outsource that to inanimate objects, then I suppose it's less effective or even completely ineffectual.
Not only that, but it could also even be harmful to the development of children.
What's the difference between the toys kids play with now and those they played with in the past?
Well, broadly speaking, they seem to be more complex, not only in terms of the tech incorporated into them, but also when it comes to the materials they're made from.
And they'd have to be, with all the electronics embedded in them and all the developments in materials, at least in material science, in the last century.
All the plastic we have alone is a massive change.
Should advertising aim that children be prohibited?
I'm tempted to say it should be banned altogether, given how irritating it is, though I'm not sure how feasible that is.
I mean, how could you even enforce such a prohibition?
It's probably more reasonable to encourage people to be more independently minded and reduce the exposure of kids to stuff like that in general.
But that's something you have to decide personally.
I don't think you could convince the authorities to enforce that.
How do adverts influence children?
I don't know a great deal about the psychological mechanism behind it, but I suppose the simple version is that, the same way it affects adults, it creates some sort of excitement or fear around having or not having something and how it could make things better, or at least appear to make things better.
With kids.
That could be making the product part of a story or through the use of bright colors or opportunities to interact, like with a digital pet or something.
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Hey, thank you very much for your answers, Rory.
My dear listener.
So modern toys.
You know, the first toy that pops into my head is labubu.
What, how do you pronounce it labubu?
Oh, my god.
Yeah yes, is this this creature?
How do you say?
It's roy labubu?
I think it's labubu, i don't know, i don't really play with the labubu and actually it's a very interesting phenomenon.
Like marketing is amazing and that's a like, a really nice, like business.
Yeah, i'm impressed.
If you don't know about Labubu Google, because the whole world seems to be crazy about this toy.
What is going on?
I know, but everyone is insane about Labubu toys.
And you can give it as an example, right?
So like modern toys.
So the world is crazy about Labubu still.
I think it was even crazier a couple of months ago, maybe like a year, like a half a year ago.
You can say that I'm not an expert about the ins and outs of product design these days.
So ins and outs, the details of product design.
Like I don't know about the design of modern toys, but toys these days might be more interactive.
So they speak to children fun to play with, but they could be more expensive.
Also, you can talk about what could we talk about?
You can talk about technology so they are more technological, so they have more technology inside them.
Or you can talk you can say that they are more educational, modern toys, but about materials.
For example, like many modern toys are made of plastic, low quality materials to make them cheaper.
So that's not good.
That's one of the disadvantages, right?
And many toys can limit children's imagination or creativity.
Maybe.
And many toys are just ugly.
Do you think so?
Which toys are ugly?
Labubu?
Look at us talking about Labubu.
That's gonna get us traction on the algorithm.
From my point of view, I don't know like, Maybe you enjoy the toy and you like it, but I don't know.
For me, it's something evil.
It's just so weird.
It's just this little monster.
It's like, wow.
It's totally crazy for me.
But maybe you're okay.
Sorry if I hurt your feelings, dear listener, right?
So the difference between boys and girls.
You can say that generally, girls are likely to play with dolls.
That's the usual story, dear listener, okay?
Very generally.
In general, girls tend to play with dolls or are more likely to play with dolls.
So probably they will play with dolls while boys but Boys tend to engage in more competitive games, tend to engage in more aggressive play.
So cars, tanks, machines, arms.
They enjoy war, they enjoy competition.
And you can see the difference in toys like Barbie.
Barbie for girls and Action Man.
Right?
But you know, I'm looking at popular toys these days.
And actually, Lego is still pretty popular.
Animals from Lego.
And Star Wars from Lego is like super popular.
Also, Play-Doh is very popular.
So, dear listener, if you don't know what Play-Doh is, just Google it.
It's just the substance that you use to make different things from.
It's like, I don't know.
Ugh.
Again, Google it.
Play Doh.
Play and D-O-H.
Doh.
Play Doh.
For little ones.
And also, you know, like different action figures for boys.
Spider-Man action figure.
We call it action figures, like figure of Spider-Man, for example.
And also, this, you know, toys from famous cartoons are popular.
For example, So a set of dolls with Moana and the big guy.
Wowie.
Even I know that.
And you know, Star Wars action set is still pretty popular.
So you can make some examples, right?
So for example, like action figures, Moana action figures, Barbie, like Spider-Man figure.
Parents need to spend more time with their kids.
Yeah.
Not presents, but time.
Not toys, but time.
So, parents need to build secure social bonds with children.
Bonds like connections.
Social connections.
Yeah, and toys are inanimate objects, dear listener.
They don't move.
Exactly.
They have no soul.
So, it doesn't move.
It's not alive.
So which is better, parents or inanimate objects?
Parents, come on, unless you have like really rubbish.
Parents and uh, toys in the past.
So we had um, very little technology no labugu, and the toys in the past were made from natural materials.
They were made from wood stone, so dolls were natural, weren't weird?
I mean, we're saying this.
Maria and I are obviously of an older generation.
There are probably some young people who are like, woo, Labubu is the best thing ever.
And they are wrong.
It is not.
Yeah, so kind of like toys were very simple, like dolls, cars, you know, soldiers, toy soldiers.
Well, we did have some teddy bears, but that's later perhaps.
Some hobby horses.
Right, and, yeah, so pretty much like wood and bone.
So, kites, you know, a kite that we put up in the air.
Balls, different balls.
So, yeah, everything was so simple.
Now it's so complicated.
And Rory tells us that, broadly speaking, again in to be more complex now than in the past.
The materials are different and we talk about embedded electronics.
So now toys have technology embedded in them in, inserted in them, so toys can talk, toys can move, toys can play music and lots of plastic, but they are no replacement for parents.
Advertisements, dear listener.
So we say adverts, ads or advertisements.
The general word for the industry is advertising, so in general advertising.
But then you say that advertisements for children, adverts for children, ads for kids, are very irritating, so they are annoying, that these adverts make children want certain toys and it's reasonable.
So it's sensible to do something.
And maybe you think that we should ban all adverts for children.
Ban like prohibit, like no no no, we don't have any adverts for children anymore, that's it, and them all together like 100.
But that's not feasible, that means it's not really possible.
So these adverts, they use some specific psychological mechanisms to influence children's psychology brain.
And they usually create a sort of excitement in children or they create a sense of fear.
A child watches this ad and then they are afraid of not getting this toy, of missing out.
So they create this feeling of missing out.
If I don't have a labubu, I will die.
Or my friends will think that I'm stupid without a labubu.
Yeah, that's horrible.
Just dreadful.
Can you imagine, Rory?
If you don't have this phone, you are this and that.
Well, that's the message being sent.
But is it a real message?
Or is it just people being manipulated?
That's the reality.
Like, Don't let yourself be manipulated by advertising.
Unless it's one of our adverts.
They are always beneficial.
Oh yeah, listen, our advertising is just, you know, amazing.
The best.
Top notch.
Those things are actually beneficial and we're not selling them to children, so that's fine.
Thank you so much for listening.
We love you.
We hug you.
Okay?
Play only with the right toys, alright?
The toys that give you pleasure and joy and they're just nice.
Bye!
What are the advantages and disadvantages of modern toys?
I honestly don't know.
I'm not exactly au fait with the ins and outs of product design these days.
But at a guess, I suppose they might be more interactive with all the technology integrated into them, which could make them more fun to play with.
On the other hand, it might make them more expensive as a result.
What's the difference between the toys boys play with and girls play with?
Well, actually I remember reading something somewhere that it's less about what they play with and more about how they play with them.
So, for example, girls are generally more likely to play with dolls in a cooperative play like playing house, while boys tend to engage in more competitive or mock aggressive play with their versions of dolls.
You could probably best see that in the difference between things like Barbie and Action Man.
Do you think parents should buy more toys for their kids or spend more time with them?
Oh, I'm definitely of the firm belief that parents need to spend more time with their kids.
It helps them to socialise and builds secure bonds and reduces mental and physical issues.
If you outsource that to inanimate objects, then I suppose it's less effective or even completely ineffectual.
Not only that, but it could also even be harmful to the development of children.
What's the difference between the toys kids play with now and those they played with in the past?
Well, broadly speaking, they seem to be more complex, not only in terms of the tech incorporated into them, but also when it comes to the materials they're made from.
And they'd have to be, with all the electronics embedded in them and all the developments in materials, at least in material science, in the last century.
All the plastic we have alone is a massive change.
Should advertising aim that children be prohibited?
I'm tempted to say it should be banned altogether, given how irritating it is, though I'm not sure how feasible that is.
I mean, how could you even enforce such a prohibition?
It's probably more reasonable to encourage people to be more independently minded and reduce the exposure of kids to stuff like that in general.
But that's something you have to decide personally.
I don't think you could convince the authorities to enforce that.
How do adverts influence children?
I don't know a great deal about the psychological mechanism behind it, but I suppose the simple version is that, the same way it affects adults, it creates some sort of excitement or fear around having or not having something and how it could make things better, or at least appear to make things better.
With kids.
That could be making the product part of a story or through the use of bright colors or opportunities to interact, like with a digital pet or something.
