At the beginning of August 2023, a video about a “new word in pedagogy” circulated on social networks: supposedly in America you can buy children’s electronic bracelets that give an electric shock if a child walks where he shouldn’t. We found out if this is a real device.
The one-minute video shows a person taking a package containing a device called “My First Ankle Monitor” from a store shelf. Behind the scenes, the author gives an overview of the device: talks about its use and demonstrates various functions.
Posts about a children's electronic bracelet were widely distributed on the RuNet. For example, in the Telegram channel “Pool N3"(105,000 views at the time of writing this analysis) he was ironically called "a new word in pedagogy" in the channel "The goat screamed"(86,000) - "an excellent help for raising (and re-educating) children", and in Nina Vatt 🇷🇺 (20,000) believe that “children are becoming more and more dangerous in the civilized world every day.” Similar recordings were published in the channels 4chan (17,000 views, post deleted), “Bottom tape" (15,000) and "Neuro (Midjourney)"(13,000). The video became no less popular on VKontakte, where posts about the device appeared in public pages “Ax - storage"(1340 likes with 328,000 views) and Dankest (460, 27,000).
In the video, a voiceover says: “If you're a parent of a small child and aren't getting enough sleep at night, I'm sure it's because your kids aren't staying in their room. Until recently I had the same problem until I found this electronic ankle bracelet at Walmart. This brand is a godsend! The method was taken as a basis from a textbook on criminal rehabilitation, which was applied to children. The device easily clips onto your little one's leg and then works 24/7 to keep kids exactly where they belong. Look at the awesome features here. Using the application, you can specify the stay zone - this is the room where your child should stay. It's like house arrest. You can also set a restricted zone for added security. I add the whole house to it. Now, every time my little intruder sneaks out of his room, I get a notification on my smartphone. From this moment on, there are several ways to resolve the situation: for example, yell at the child from the bed or promise something in exchange for returning to the room. But my favorite is to use the built-in educational stun gun. It’s a kind of psychotherapy for me.”
At first glance, it may seem that there is nothing unusual in the video: the product was indeed on a shelf where other toys were visible. At the same time, various logos are visible on the packaging (including the Walmart supermarket chain), a barcode, an indication of age restrictions, and even an inscription about where you can download the application. However, on the Walmart website absent device called My First Ankle Monitor, and in Google Play And App Store no Tike Tracker app. The toy manufacturer called Little Yikes also does not exist, but there is a real company Little Tikes, whose slightly modified logo was used on the box of a children's electronic bracelet.
The thing is that this device is a joke. The packaging features the Legboot logo (an adaptation of the word bootleg, which means “underground” or “counterfeit”), and the viral video has a watermark superimposed on it by a TikTok user named @LegbootLegit (previously reportedthat his name is Justin). At the time of writing this analysis, the original video, published on the night of July 31, 2023, dialed more than 30 million views. If you look at other publications by the same author, it becomes clear that he creates humorous non-existent devices and toys - among them computer for beetles, generated by a neural network action figure, hairy case for a beer can and "kisser» insects.
August 2 on my Instagram* @LegbootLegit released second post:
They might hate me for this, but I don't care. This product has been a godsend for my family. No more late night fights screaming at Brantley to stay in his room. No more unexpected honey incidents (it took me three days to get it out of my hair. I threw out my pillow). The app is so intuitive that setting up zones is a breeze. And of course, the shock function! My children have never been so quiet and obedient. Honestly, I'm thinking about getting a Doin' Time camera. I almost cry because I feel so relieved. I can't imagine having even more time to myself... but the Universe continues to be supportive!
This publication mentions another parody toy, the advertisement of which was on the box of the bracelet - the Doin' Time camera (can be translated as “draws a deadline”). Also @LegbootLegit addedthat he implemented the idea of the device together with another author - Andy Sahlstrom (under the nickname @shampoooty), on whose Instagram posted a different version of the bracelet packaging. Sahlstrom also creates non-existent, humorous children's toys with an adult context: for example, a tiny guillotine, police handcuffs and hunting trap. Moreover, other images cameras And bracelet were published on his page back in June and July - long before the @LegbootLegit video appeared.
It's a funny situation happened with the official Walmart Twitter account. One of the users wrotethat the bracelets were not available at his local store and asked where he could find them. Automatic reply came from Walmart Help profile: “We suggest contacting your local store manager about the items you would like to see in stock. Perhaps they can place an order for you.” And this despite the fact that the bracelets not for sale even on websites with merch from the authors of the joke.
Publications about an electronic bracelet that shocks children have also spread to the foreign segment of the Internet - for example, only one tweet with a video dialed more than 18 million views. Some users were outraged by the device, but others liked the device. The video was circulated so widely that denials released some famous publications “Thanks for fact-checking the comedy sketch,” commented article Forbes by @LegbootLegit. To Reuters he once again confirmedthat "both the product and the video are satirical." “You'd be surprised how much fun it is to spread harmless misinformation. The world could use a little more craziness, a little more weirdness, a little more humor... I'm helping fill that void." told he told the New York Post. And in one of the tweets the author added: “There’s nothing wrong with people taking jokes seriously.”
*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social network Instagram, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Cover photo: @LegbootLegit
- Is it true that scientists have learned to convert human stress into electricity?
- Is it true that the West has invented a device that is placed on a baby’s face and muffles the sounds of its crying?
- Is it true that coddling children is harmful to their development?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
