Not Quite Connected: Digital Play, Participation and the Missing Shared Culture in Early Childhood

Abstract

This article examines how age influences young children's opportunities for digital participation and play. Drawing on individual interviews and focus groups with 21 children aged 5–6 in Norway, the study explores how children themselves describe their digital experiences. The analysis reveals that while young children express joy and curiosity about digital opportunities, they express that they often engage in digital play alone and seldom share digital experiences with peers or parents. The findings suggest a lack of shared digital culture among peers, highlighting how age functions as a social and cultural category shaping digital inclusion and exclusion. The findings underscore the gatekeeping role of parents and suggest that kindergarten and early school settings may serve as important arenas for fostering equitable access to digital play and interaction. The article contributes to ongoing discussions on children's digital lives by foregrounding the perspectives of younger children and calling attention to the structural conditions shaping their digital participation.