A master thesis from Aalborg University
The Influence of Apps in Otherwise Screenless Play Sessions
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-06-03
Pages
96 pages
Abstract
Dette studie havde til formål at undersøge, hvordan digitale komponenter influerer den samtidige interaktion med fysiske komponenter i konteksten af leg. Hertil blev der opstillet 3 hypoteser; 1) forældre er tilbageholdende overfor at involvere digitale komponenter, 2) barnets alder har en indflydelse på deres rolle, og 3) at inkludere digitale komponenter vil ændre legens fokus. Studiet blev skrevet i samarbejde med The LEGO Group og modtog 10 LEGO DUPLO tog sæt (\#10428), hvor der er en tilhørende app (LEGO DUPLO Trains), der kan kontrollere sættets fysiske komponenter. Her blev der over en længere periode udført et flerdelt forsøg med de samme forældre og deres børn (3-5 år). Det bestod af observationer i hjemmet (n=10), et retrospektiv interview (n=10) og to opfølgende spørgeskemaer (n=10, n=9). Kvalitativ data blev analyseret gennem tematisk analyse og viste samlagt med supplerende kvantitativ data, et split mellem forældres tanker om brugen af teknologi i leg og deres egentligt anvendelse deraf, der bør studeres nærmere. Derudover sås til tider betydningsfulde, interpersonelle forskelle mellem forældrene, der indikerer, at en større deltagergruppe er påkrævet for at opnå generaliserbare resultater.
The purpose of this study was to investigate how digital components influence simultaneous interaction with physical components in the context of play. Three hypotheses were formulated; 1) parents are reluctant to involve digital components, 2) the child's age influences their role, and 3) including digital components will change the focus of play. The study was written in collaboration with The LEGO Group and received 10 LEGO DUPLO train sets (\#10428), which have an accompanying app (LEGO DUPLO Trains) which can control the set's physical components. Over a longer period of time, an experiment with the same parents and their children (aged 3-5), was conducted. It consisted of observations in the home (n=10), a retrospective interview (n=10), and two follow-up questionnaires (n=10, n=9). Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis and, together with supplementary quantitative data, revealed a split between parents' thoughts on the use of technology in play and their actual use of it, which should be studied further. In addition, at times noticeable interpersonal differences between the parents were observed, indicating that a larger participant group is required to obtain generalizable results.
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