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Key research themes
1. How do Internet-connected toys impact children's privacy and parental perceptions of monitoring and control?
This research area investigates the privacy concerns, mental models, and interaction expectations of children and parents regarding internet-connected toys. It is crucial because these toys collect data continuously in a child's environment, raising unique privacy, ethical, and security challenges. Understanding parental attitudes and children's awareness informs the design and regulatory frameworks for safer and more transparent connected toys.
Key finding: Through semi-structured interviews with nine parent-child pairs interacting with Hello Barbie and CogniToys Dino, this study found that children were often unaware that the toys recorded conversations and that many parents... Read more
Key finding: The article situates children as economically valuable data sources under surveillance capitalism, highlighting how Internet-connected toys and devices embed children deeper into data extraction economies. It outlines how... Read more
Key finding: Bringing together academic and industry expert perspectives, this report evaluates Internet-connected toys' risks related to privacy breaches and data security while recognizing educational and engagement opportunities. It... Read more
Key finding: This study reveals parental ambivalence toward toys using emotional AI to sense and respond to children's affective states, raising new privacy and ethical concerns beyond traditional data collection. It emphasizes the... Read more
2. How does connectivity and digital enhancement transform the functions and play value of traditional toys?
This theme explores how adding digital capabilities such as cloud connectivity, speech recognition, and AI alters the affordances, interaction patterns, and educational potentials of conventional toys. It matters because understanding these transformations guides the design of hybrid toys that effectively integrate physical and digital play while retaining desirable features from traditional toys.
Key finding: Applying the Functional Manipulation Potential (FMP) framework to compare Hello Barbie with a traditional Barbie revealed two key effects of connectivity: additions of new digital functionalities like speech recognition, and... Read more
Key finding: By analyzing children's rationales for choosing toys and correlating these with the functional manipulation potential of the toys, the study highlights that children value both the inherent affordances of toys and the... Read more
Key finding: Through an expert interview, this work clarifies that IoToys extend the traditional toy experience by embedding internet connectivity and AI, enabling personalized and interactive play. However, it points out that new... Read more
3. What are the implications of Internet-connected toys for children's learning and digital literacy in early education contexts?
This research strand focuses on how IoToys function as tools for edutainment and developmental learning, particularly in preschool settings. It investigates how educators and children engage with connected toys, the kinds of play enabled, and the requisite media literacy skills needed to integrate these technologies appropriately in early learning.
Key finding: Observations and interviews with preschool educators and children playing with IoToys illustrated that these toys blur boundaries between formal/informal learning and require educators to cultivate transmedia literacy skills.... Read more
Key finding: This experimental study with children aged 3–4 shows that children’s executive function skills and family socio-economic factors influence their preference for trendy versus classic toys, suggesting that cognitive and... Read more
Key finding: While primarily focused on privacy, this study also reveals that children quickly learn repetitive interaction patterns with connected toys and desire richer dialogue similar to conversational agents, highlighting the... Read more