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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Yao WangORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The relationship between children’s digital play and well-being remains under-researched, with debates often polarised and limited by a lack of holistic studies in diverse global contexts. This article draws on empirical data from an ecoculturally informed study of children’s (6–12) digital play in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Cyprus to examine how individual and contextual circumstances influence children’s self-led digital play choices and practices. To do so, we theorise ‘contextualised digital play drivers’, understood as children’s own accounts, or adults’ interpretations, of the deep interests, needs and desires their play appears to fulfil. This approach moves beyond dominant lenses focused on individual autonomy, offering a more situated reading acknowledging the individual and contextual circumstances shaping digital play. Eleven contextualised digital play drivers are identified and discussed in relation to children’s well-being. The article concludes with implications for game designers, educators, families, policy and research methodology.
Author(s): Scott F, Chesworth L, Kontovourki S, Murcia K, Murris K, Balnaves K, Bannister C, Christofi M, Kuria D, Maditsi K, Menning F, Neokleous T, Peers J, Roscoe S, Samuels V, Scott C, Caetano-Silva G, Tsoukka A, Wang Y, Woodward N, Trzebiatowski C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: New Media & Society
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 27/12/2025
Acceptance date: 05/12/2025
Date deposited: 14/01/2026
ISSN (print): 1461-4448
ISSN (electronic): 1461-7315
Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251406245
DOI: 10.1177/14614448251406245
Data Access Statement: We are in the process of making anonymised transcripts available via ORDA. The suggested set of research activities and tools is currently available on ORDA: Scott, F., Chesworth, L., Kontovourki, S., Murcia, K., Murris, K., Balnaves, K., Bannister, C., Christofi, A. M., Kuria, D., Maditsi, K., Menning, S. F., Neokleous, T., Peers, J., Roscoe, S., Samuels, V., Scott, C., Caetano-Silva, G., Tsoukka, A., Wang, Y., Woodward, N. and Hartley, C. (2025). Suggested set of research activities and tools for the RITEC (Children’s Digital Play and Well-being) research project. The University of Sheffield. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15131/shef. data.29235608.v1.
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