To understand what good looks like for children’s play in a digital world, we cut through today’s anxious confusion by integrating insights from multiple sources of expertise to synthesise the value of play in childhood. Informed by public consultation, we evaluated opportunities to transpose the qualities of play into digital contexts, and have proposed ways to enhance them. The results can be found in our latest report, Playful by Design: Free play in a digital world. Download PDF here.
Publications
The overall objective of the survey research was to assess what apps and games children and young people are currently using, how these are used for play and what other activities including non-digital play they undertake, together with background information on their well-being.
The report looks at one of the most important aspects of a child’s development – free play – and how platforms succeed and fail in facilitating it. The purpose is to improve children’s opportunities for free play and overcome the inhibiting factors in digital services that children report.
What are the qualities of free play that children enjoy in a digital world? Our new report sets out the 12 qualities of play, and shows how children have devised new ways to play during the pandemic, including with apps like Zoom. We call on those with the power to influence the digital environment to prioritise Playful by Design so that these qualities can thrive and benefit children.
The Kaleidoscope of Play in a Digital World builds on the recent Digital Futures Commission report ‘A Panorama of Play‘ which identified and explored the characteristics of free play and its importance in children’s lives. This report now identifies the possibilities and challenges of children’s free play in a digital world.
The DFC is launching a consultation on play and invites children and young people, parents and carers, and professionals who work with children to share views on the opportunities to play in a digital world.
Our first report, A Panorama of Play, reviews the rich history of ideas about free play and proposes the qualities of play that matter in a digital world.
Blogs
“Playful by Design” goes to Paris!
By Kruakae Pothong and Sonia Livingstone Our “Playful by Design” principles – the primary output of the Digital Futures Commission’s applied research to realise children’s »
What works for children’s play in a digital world and what needs to change?
By Kruakae Pothong & Sonia Livingstone Children have the right to play (Article 31, UNCRC) and this right applies in both physical and digital environments. »
Are children’s lives all fun and games? No. So, we call for Playful by Design
By Sonia Livingstone and Kruakae Pothong This year’s Safer Internet Day theme on 8 February is “All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online,” »
Let’s play! Putting Playful by Design into practice
By Kruakae Pothong and Sonia Livingstone Did you have a playful Christmas? The year 2021 was the year of Playful by Design at the Digital »
Free play in Minecraft: What does it look like?
By Jane Mavoa The Digital Futures Commission recently launched its Playful by Design: Free Play in a Digital World report. Alongside insights from children, the »
How does Playful by Design work in practice? The case of Fortnite
By Sonia Livingstone and Kruakae Pothong “Digital technology connects … physical and virtual spaces, creating both local and global digital playgrounds. Some of these spaces »