The real toy story

Feb 22 2007 by Emma Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

Emma Johnson discovers boys and girls just don't want to grow up

IF IT has got shiny lights, twiddly knobs and requires batteries, then chances are men want one.
 
From Commodore 64's to Sat Nav, guys have always had an unusual affinity for gadgets.
 
However, women are catching up fast in the desire to have the latest must-have technological treats, and research shows that women spend an average £634 per year on hi-tech goods.
 
But it doesn't stop at just gizmos to help us keep in touch, or prevent us from getting lost on the nation's road network.
 
It seems this desire to buy things to "play" with could stem from an attempt to stay forever young.
 
According to a recent survey by market analysts BMRB, adults who refuse to grow up spend a staggering £6bn a year trying to recapture their youth.
 
This group has been labelled the "New Regressives" and subscribers buy all of the latest gadgets (like Nintendo Wii), listen to favourite bands from their youth (hence Take That's resurgence), or collect toys from their childhood.
 
Health psychologist David Moxon, associate lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, says this regression to your childhood can actually benefit your physical and psychological health.
 
"One of the problems with getting older in our society is that we tend to bury certain childlike characteristics.
 
"Toys can often almost be the embodiment of those character- istics, they take us back to a time where we did have those qualities in abundance and, of course, there is the nostalgia element as well.