Three questions about the Internet of things and children

Abstract

Children’s interaction with technology is evolving; increasingly there are devices that can capture and respond seamlessly to their everyday activity. This raises pertinent questions such as: how these technologies shape children’s activity; how the data from their activity is used, and to what extent children, and their parents, are cognisant of the technology. This paper examines these questions in light of an emerging technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), by drawing upon three investigations (deskbased, home context, school context) into two commercially successful IoT designs (Skylanders and Disney Infinity). Whilst these particular games are limited in what activity they capture, the research illustrates how the digitalisation of everyday objects (toys) can influence both attitudes and behaviour, and generate potentially revealing data about children’s everyday activity; yet with little reflection from parents or children. Encouragingly, the research also showed children’s potential, with support, not just to understand, but design with this technology.