Early this morning I found myself on the Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Solent talking about “virtual pets”. They’ve come a long way since those early Tamagotchis! They had asked me to take part as I am an Internet Psychologist and they wanted the low down on the psychological implications of having virtual pets instead of real ones. I think they were a bit surprised when I pointed out the massive benefits of virtual pets and why children and the elderly should have them. The manufacturers and web site owners of online pets are missing a real trick; they are targeting young children, girls, for the most part. Yet, there is a huge untapped audience of people over 65 who would really benefit and warm to online and virtual pets of all kinds.