Why play matters in a digital world

To ask afresh why children’s play matters, and to figure out how to design a better digital world, we have already taken three crucial steps: We reviewed the research on play, publishing “A Panorama of Play” by Dr Kate Cowan in November. This proposes 8 qualities of free play which, taken together, explains why play matters and sets out the challenge for what we should expect of play in a digital world; We interviewed the experts – a diverse mix of playworkers, game designers, psychologists, educationalists, child rights advocates and others – on the philosophy and practice of free play. From this we discovered the range of opinion, and gained insight and inspiration for the task ahead; We launched a public consultation on play in a digital world, to invite children and young people, parents and caregivers, and professionals who work with children to contribute experiences, concerns and expectations – please respond to our call for participation! Some snippets of what we’ve learned so far at #DigitalFutures include . . .