Play and agency
Children need opportunities to make choices, explore possibilities, experiment and express their ideas.
About PLAYS · Why it matters
Why meaningful digital play matters.
Children’s digital lives are changing. The PLAYS framework adopts a child development lens to help ask better questions about the experiences we design and the ways we assess their quality.
The starting point
We have been asking how much. We also need to ask what kind.
Two children may spend the same amount of time with a device and have very different experiences. One may be watching passively, while another may be creating a story, experimenting with an idea, solving a challenge or collaborating with someone.
The duration of use is one part of the picture. The quality and context of the experience matter too. We need to understand what children are doing, the choices they can make, who they are connected to and whether the experience supports their development and well-being.
A changing childhood
Children are growing up across connected worlds.
Physical and digital experiences do not have to be treated as opposing worlds. The opportunity is to understand how they can complement one another while protecting the time children need for movement, relationships, rest, imagination and unstructured play.
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People and relationships
Adults and peers can help children interpret, extend and reflect on what happens in digital spaces.
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Learning beyond the screen
Digital experiences can invite children to build, talk, move, investigate and create in their everyday environments.
Why PLAYS was created
We need a practical way to examine the experience.
Parents want to make thoughtful choices. Educators want to use technology responsibly. Designers want to create products that respect children. Researchers and organisations want to understand what works and where improvements are needed.
PLAYS brings these conversations together through a common framework and an assessment approach. It is intended to help people move from broad intentions to more specific questions about design, use and impact.
Explore the five principles“Is this digital experience worthy of a child's time?”
Connect
Partnership and collaboration enquiries
Get in touch about working with PLAYS.