Understanding the Mutuality of Play and Media Literacy in Young Children

In a digital world, children’s play and their implicit right to play extends to play involving digital technologies. The main contribution of our work is to link children’s right to play to a broad and socio-culturally inspired approach to media literacy that involves dimensions of play. In that light, we revisit the concept of media literacy to understand the nature of play with digital technologies and the importance of children’s participation, based on a long-term field study of children aged 5–6 years in two Danish public pre-primary schools. A conceptual framework is therefore needed that combines play and media literacy—both in the context of everyday life, where playful practices are part of young children’s way of being together, and in a broader aesthetic context that acknowledges the importance of the child’s perspective and participation. After addressing the theoretical understanding of media literacy in relation to play, we consider the methodological implications of investigating these as related issues. We go on to analyse two interviews by and with children. One concerns drawings of the infamous computer game Grant Theft Auto (GTA) and the fun of it from a 6-year-old’s perspective; the other explores two children’s understanding of how to make a game. Finally, we discuss the results and implications of looking at media literacy in this way from the child’s perspective.