Make-Believe Play with the Internet of Toys: A Case for Multimodal Playscapes

This study examines whether the Internet of Toys (IoToys) (de)limits children's make-believe play and whether the functionality and manipulatives offered by the IoToys serve as motivational pleasure (tactile, virtual and visual) for children to engage in make-believe play. Combining Piagetian and Vygotskian ideas of play as a unity of cognition and social context, we consider IoToys as a motivational conduit for children's symbolic actions that leads to make-believe play. Qualitative methodology was employed using observations of young children at home when interacting with IoToys (total n = 10 families) from England (n = 5 families) and Australia (n = 5 families). Data showed that children's interaction does not limit the development of their make-believe play as they engage in imitation schemata and create imaginative situations within and beyond the intended pre-programmed functions of the IoToy. To conclude, it is argued that instead of differentiating virtual and physical play, we should (re)think play with multimodal playscape lenses.