Giga pets killed real pets

I remember, as I was growing up, that one recurring theme of several kid shows was the episode where the kid wanted a pet and it didn't work out with the parents. There would basically be some scenario where a kid from a family had parents who didn't allow animals into the house so the kids around the neighborhood would care for the pet or the kid would simply hide the pet into the house.

So where's this idea today? It's been transformed. Now it's a fight for a cellphone, a computer or the internet at home. Where when I was a kid, I remembered our fascination for pets that people had in their house. A tarantula, holly shit! Fred's got a fucking snake man! The whole idea feels lost to me, it feels replaced by impersonal objects.

I personally find it a great lost. Kids can learn a hell of a lot with a pet around the house!