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Maybe a Tamagotchi Will Help
Why digital pets are sparking joy right now
My Tamagotchi, which I’ve named Tamagotchi III, chirps beside me as I doomscroll. I detach my eyes from Twitter and attend to Tamagotchi’s needs: He is hungry but refuses the apple pie I offer him, opting instead for a bottle of milk.
He’s my third Tamagotchi hatchling; the first, Tamagotchi I, died — I forgot about him for a day, so he starved. The second, Tamagotchi II, grew fat and happy and returned to his home planet. Now I nurture Tamagotchi III all day every day so that he will hopefully do the same, making way for Tamagotchi IV.
Though my mother says I had a Tamagotchi when I was a kid — which she claims was “so annoying” — I don’t remember it at all. Therefore, I consider this Tamagotchi device, which has birthed the above three hatchlings so far, my first. The product, a Hello Kitty Tamagotchi that launched in December 2020, is the latest in the device’s parent company Bandai’s yearlong attempt to reintroduce Tamagotchi to a younger American audience 25 years after its initial 1996 launch.
Here’s the thing: I love my Tamagotchi. I love that it gives me a momentary respite from my phone or computer. I love caring for this odd little alien (Tamagotchi, canonically, are aliens) so that he’ll grow up happy and healthy enough to return home…
