The Digital Futures Commission has now concluded. Our new project is the Digital Futures for Children centre, joint with 5Rights Foundation and London School of Economics and Political Science.

Imagining digital play in the best interests of children and young people

The Digital Futures Commission has launched its first consultation on play in the digital world. The aim is to re-imagine play in the digital world. 

We invite you to join if you are UK-based, and from one of these groups: 

  • Children and young people 
  • Parents/carers 
  • Professionals working with children 

To keep everyone safe during Covid-19, we are running this consultation – a playful 45 minute group discussion – online via Zoom. We’ll discuss why play is important for children, what opportunities children have for digital play, and why and how play in the digital world could be improved.  

Our consultation is now open and runs to the end of February 2021 on any Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am or 6pm.  

Please do get in touch at info@digitalfuturescommission.org.uk if you can participate! Together let’s try to bring about a child-friendly digital world. 

Background information 

More information about this consultation can be found in our official call for participation

The consultation follows our literature review on children’s play, ‘A Panorama of Play’ by Kate Cowan. In this, we try to understand children’s play from diverse perspectives and we highlight common qualities of free play.  

Both the consultation and the review on children’s play are part of the Digital Futures Commission’s research, aimed at enhancing digital environments to better serve the best interests of children. 

What to expect

The group discussion will take about 45 minutes. A member of the DFC team will be present to host the discussion. We will send you some information and a consent form in advance and then assign you to a group. No need to prepare!

We will hold small discussion groups on Zoom. The discussions will have a serious purpose, but they will also be fun! You can join with a group of people you know, or join on your own and we’ll put you in a group. We will ask you some questions, and do some interesting activities with you. We’ll allow time to hear your suggestions for what should be improved.

Ethical considerations

You can join the online discussion with your camera on or not, and with your real name or not, as you choose. We will audio record the conversation but collect no images or video. Other than the information you may disclose to participants in your group conversation, your participation will be anonymous and confidential. The DFC team is DBS-checked. The consultation has been approved in terms of research ethics and data
protection by the London School of Economics and Political Science and the 5Rights Foundation.

You can find more details about the play consultations here.

Image credits: Vecteezy, iconicbestiary, and Ilgbupuv