Even in these internet and technology obsessed times, as a parent, we are often called upon to play with children’s dolls and that is seen as socially acceptable by everyone. However, there is also a huge demand for action figures and dolls from adults, both male and female, even though in some quarters of society this is considered to be a little strange, because toys are seen as only being for children.

However, many adults take great pleasure from collecting and playing with dolls, figurines and action figures. A doll collector is called a plangonologist. There are celebrity collectors as well, including Demi Moore, Courtney Love, and Johnny Depp.

Some say that collecting dolls gives them pleasure and reminds them of their happiest long-lasting childhood memories. Dolls are usually a reflection for what humans perceive as being ideal in society at any one time in history and are almost like a snapshot of cultural norms and celebrity worship.

Other theories say that doll collecting is and always has been perfectly normal adult behavior - humans have always collected human-like figures since their beginnings, even stone-age adult humans would shape crude doll-like figures and keep collections.

If you think of the popularity of Barbie dolls then check out this video of a male adult collector, Jian Yang, who has collected more than 6,000 dolls over the last 25 years…

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For many adults, the hobby has just the same appeal as other hobbies like collecting stamps, train sets, artwork, jewelry, even mugs. Collectors often make large sums of money on trading collectibles.

There are doll collectors who find dolls to be an escape form the hurly-burly and stresses of the world, and also they channel their creative in clothes designing, photography, drawing, even tattooing, when playing with them. Almost like an interactive art form, and if you take a look on Instagram, you will find images of dolls that have been repainted, posed and dressed in bespoke-made clothing.

So are adults who play with dolls mentally healthy?

For the larger part, playing with dolls is a perfectly healthy pastime – consider these possibilities

• they may play with dolls to relieve stress

• they may use the dolls as replacements for lost loved ones

• they may be escaping from their problems

• they may be lonely and seek sexual release

There is a thriving market for men’s and women’s realistically made sex dolls, like these ones from jsdolls.com , and these y use these for sexual companionship, to spice up their sex life, and sometimes because they have specific fetishes that they find it difficult to explore with their partners , as one expert person has explained it “Couples find the dolls a safe way to introduce another partner as there are no emotions, it’s sexual exploration without cheating.” These couples often use the dolls as a way to overcome physical intimacy issues when one partner is unable to enjoy the sexual relationship, sometimes for physical reasons.

Whatever your reason for collecting dolls, as long as it is a pleasurable experience, do not be deterred by unjustifiable negative reactions, and you can enjoy your hobby throughout adult life and bring joy to yourself and your family.