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Persuasive Toy Friends and Preschoolers: Playtesting IoToys

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The Internet of Toys

Part of the book series: Studies in Childhood and Youth ((SCY))

Abstract

This chapter conducts an empirical study on the Internet of Toys (IoToys) with preschool-aged children in Finland, focusing on the strategies that contemporary character toymakers use to persuade players to nurture, connect and take part in social play. Four English-speaking IoToys were chosen based on their supposed innovativeness, popularity and availability on Amazon.com at the time of the research (September–October 2017) and were playtested with preschoolers who were 5–6 years of age. The study focuses on the variety of play affordances of the hybrid toys, which are both educational and entertaining, and investigates how these features are employed in play. By studying potential play patterns related to these toys, this study highlights preschoolers’ own responses to the affordances of the chosen IoToys.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to express our gratitude to the preschool children and their teachers for participating in and facilitating our group interviews and playtests. This study was partly funded by the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies (decision #312396) research project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Turku, Pori, Finland

    Katriina Heljakka

  2. Prizztech Ltd., Pori, Finland

    Pirita Ihamäki

Authors
  1. Katriina Heljakka
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  2. Pirita Ihamäki
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katriina Heljakka .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy

    Giovanna Mascheroni

  2. School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University, Mount Lawley, WA, Australia

    Donell Holloway

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Heljakka, K., Ihamäki, P. (2019). Persuasive Toy Friends and Preschoolers: Playtesting IoToys. In: Mascheroni, G., Holloway, D. (eds) The Internet of Toys. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10898-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10898-4_8

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-10897-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-10898-4

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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