Screen-play: An observational study of the effect of screen media on Children's play in a museum setting

Research suggests that young children develop and learn primarily through play. Children play in a large number of settings, one of particular interest are interactive children's museums. These museums provide optimal places to observe social play processes for young children. Another context to children's play is media use, which has been linked to a wide variety of outcomes depending on the context of the media use. This paper utilizes observational micro-longitudinal methods to examine the effect of media on the play processes in a children's museum in a sample of 150 children (a total of 1500 min of observation). Overall, we found that first, children did not use personal screens (tablets, smartphones, etc.) while in the museum setting. Second, we found that screens built into the exhibits played little role in children's social and emotional expression while playing at children's museums, with one exception. Children struggled to transition out of media use well, and thus had a decrease in positive social interactions after playing at an exhibit with some form of media or screen. These findings and implications for children's social and emotional development are discussed.