industry & reform
Virtual connections
How digital technologies can improve childrens ’ wellbeing .
Karen Murcia interviewed by Emilie Lauer
Research is revealing that online technologies and digital play can increase children ’ s wellbeing , help develop their creativity , create positive emotions and improve collaborative skills .
According to Curtin University associate professor Karen Murcia , today ’ s children are growing up in a digital world and are experiencing technology daily .
“ Children see technology and digital play as something fun ; it allows them to be more creative , increase their imagination , and when it is connected they are making friends and collaborating with others ,” Murcia said .
“ We want to see children navigate a digital world where they have positive emotions , joy , and they feel a sense of calm and peace and general satisfaction .” However , Murcia believes that some people are fearful of what children could encounter while experiencing digital play .
“ We didn ’ t grow up with that kind of technology . We need to teach children digital safety , they need to have digital literacy – it ’ s an educative process ,” said Murcia .
Murcia joined Education Review to discuss the benefits of digital technologies on children ’ s wellbeing .
ER : How are digital experiences and technology for children perceived today ? KM : Children today are growing up in a very much a digitised world . They ’ re immersed in a world in which they ’ re experiencing digital technologies daily .
Very young children watch and see their parents using mobile phones , and they themselves are playing with apps on phones . So they see computers , iPads , and they ’ re playing digital games , and they ’ re connecting with other people in this way . They ’ re doing that through a direct experience but also online as well .
I think there ’ s some fear out there because this digitisation of childhood and digital experiences is different to what many of us experienced or certainly grew up with ourselves . There is definitely fear about what children could encounter when they ’ re online .
We ’ ve seen some quite vocal people coming forward and saying it contributes to obesity and poor physical activity and so on . So there are a range of concerns that have been expressed when we look at some of the other research that ’ s out there .
Your research aims to develop positive wellbeing in digital play . Why is this important ? Because we ’ re talking about children ’ s emotional and mental wellbeing . We want to see children in a digital world where they have positive emotions , that they ’ re happy and they ’ re joyful , and they feel a sense of calm and control and peace , and general satisfaction with life .
Given that their lives are increasingly impacted by digital technologies and digital play , we are wanting to understand how they perceive their happiness in this digital world , and what sort of factors are impacting on whether it ’ s a positive or even a negative experience with digital devices and online .
How can technology improve childrens ’ wellbeing ? If it ’ s looked at it in a positive way , children actually see it as fun . And we have research reporting that it enables children to be more creative . They can enter into these imaginary worlds , and they can even use the digital tool as a tool for being creative .
When there ’ s connected play and experiences online for children , they ’ re making friends and they ’ re collaborating with others – just in a way that is perhaps different to the way we grew up , or
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