Meaningful Play 2022 at Michigan State University

Session Information

TitleChildren's Digital Playgrounds: The Hidden Politics of Child-Specific, Commercial and Connected Digital Games
Presenter(s)Sara Grimes
TimeWednesday, October 12, 11:00a-12:00p
LocationMSU Union Ballroom
FormatSpeaker
DescriptionIn this talk, I present arguments advanced in my new book, Digital Playgrounds, which explores key developments, trends, and controversies that have shaped the development of child-specific, commercial, connected games over the past two decades. The discussion draws on several studies conducted between 2002 and 2018 on connected games designed for children under twelve years, tracing the emergence and impact of four problematic tendencies found in many titles produced by the children's media and tech industries. These four tendencies are: a disconnect between children's privacy and children's need for autonomous spaces; a lack of support for children's freedom of expression online and its positioning in opposition to children's safety; unanswered questions about who owns children's digital content and shared culture; and the problematic application of both traditional and emerging models of corporate control and commercialization to artifacts designed and targeted to young children.

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