The Internet of Toys: Practices, Affordances and the Political Economy of Childrens Smart Play (Studies in Childhood and Youth)

The Internet of Toys (IoToys) is a developing market within our Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. This book examines the rise of internet-connected toys and aims to anticipate the opportunities and risks of IoToys before their widespread diffusion. Contributors to this volume each provide a critical analysis of the design, production, regulation, representation and consumption of internet-connected toys. In order to address the theoretical, methodological and policy questions that arise from the study of these new playthings, and contextualise the diverse opportunities and challenges that IoToys pose to educators, families and children themselves, the chapters engage with notions of mediatization, datafication, robotification, connected and post-digital play. This timely engagement with a key transformation in children’s play will appeal to all readers interested in understanding the social uses and consequences of IoToys, and primarily to researchers and students in children and media, early childhood studies, media and communications, sociology, education, social psychology, law and design. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Introducing the Internet of Toys (Giovanna Mascheroni, Donell Holloway)....Pages 1-22 Front Matter ....Pages 23-23 Asking Today the Crucial Questions of Tomorrow: Social Robots and the Internet of Toys (Jochen Peter, Rinaldo Kühne, Alex Barco, Chiara de Jong, Caroline L. van Straten)....Pages 25-46 The Uncanny Valley Revisited: Play with the Internet of Toys (Jackie Marsh)....Pages 47-65 Toying with the Singularity: AI, Automata and Imagination in Play with Robots and Virtual Pets (Seth Giddings)....Pages 67-87 Postdigitality in Children’s Crossmedia Play: A Case Study of Nintendo’s Amiibo Figurines (Bjorn Nansen, Benjamin Nicoll, Thomas Apperley)....Pages 89-108 Front Matter ....Pages 109-109 The Domestication of Smart Toys: Perceptions and Practices of Young Children and Their Parents (Rita Brito, Patrícia Dias, Gabriela Oliveira)....Pages 111-133 An Ecological Exploration of the Internet of Toys in Early Childhood Everyday Life (Lorna Arnott, Ioanna Palaiologou, Colette Gray)....Pages 135-157 Persuasive Toy Friends and Preschoolers: Playtesting IoToys (Katriina Heljakka, Pirita Ihamäki)....Pages 159-178 Front Matter ....Pages 179-179 Designing the Internet of Toys for and with Children: A Participatory Design Case Study (Maarten Van Mechelen, Bieke Zaman, Lizzy Bleumers, Ilse Mariën)....Pages 181-203 Including Children in the Design of the Internet of Toys (Dylan Yamada-Rice)....Pages 205-221 Testing Internet of Toys Designs to Improve Privacy and Security (Stéphane Chaudron, Dimitrios Geneiatakis, Ioannis Kounelis, Rosanna Di Gioia)....Pages 223-239 Video Methods: Researching Sociomaterial Points-of-View in Children’s Play Practices with IoToys (Thomas Enemark Lundtofte, Stine Liv Johansen)....Pages 241-263 Hybrid Methods for Hybrid Play: A Research Toolkit (Giovanna Mascheroni, Donell Holloway)....Pages 265-282 Front Matter ....Pages 283-283 The Internet of Toys: Playing Games with Children’s Data? (Ingrida Milkaite, Eva Lievens)....Pages 285-305 Covert Advertising on IoToys (Esther Martínez Pastor, Patricia Núñez)....Pages 307-326 The Industry of Smart Toys: Cultural Implications from the Political Economy (Vilmantė Liubinienė, Ana Jorge)....Pages 327-346 Concluding the Internet of Toys (Giovanna Mascheroni, Donell Holloway)....Pages 347-361 Back Matter ....Pages 363-366