Enjoyment in Digital Play: Exploring Young Children’s Social Interactions

This paper presents findings from a study that explored young children’s verbal and non-verbal expressions of enjoyment in social interactions when engaged in play with an augmented reality (AR) application. Data was collected from 34 children, aged five to eight years, from an indoor laboratory playground setting located in Western Australia. Transcripts of children’s social interactions in situ when engaged in play with the AR app were deductively coded for expressions of enjoyment using Eberle’s (2014) basic elements of play. Findings showed the children’s verbal and non-verbal expressions of anticipation, surprise, and pleasure using selected transcripts of their interactions. This paper argues that by analysing children’s social interactions through the talk-in-interaction, children’s enjoyment is realised through both the words they use and their actions – expressions not evident in broader measures of enjoyment. This exploration enhances our understanding about the aspects of digital play that the children enjoy.