'I don't want to watch grown-up stuff': Children's and Parents' Perspectives and Recommendations for Health-Centered Digital Media Design

Screen time is ubiquitous in children’s lives and has both positive and negative health impacts. Calls for developmentally appropriate design and restrictions on manipulative design are ongoing, yet children’s and parents’ perspectives to inform interventions are lacking. This research uses design workshops with children (n=16) and focus groups with their parents (n=17) to understand whether and how digital media could be more health-centered. Participants shared concerns that manipulative design may inhibit screen time limits and transitions, and present age-inappropriate content. Participants expressed strong interest in health-centered designs incorporating nudges, moderation, and controls. Children’s self-generated designs aimed to reduce negative impacts by limiting screen time (e.g., time-related feedback, changed defaults), facilitating transitions (e.g., pause capabilities), minimizing age-inappropriate content (e.g., expanded shared controls), and reducing hurtful experiences (e.g., online video game moderation). To increase positive health impacts, participants suggested promoting physical activity (e.g., suggested screen breaks) within and away from digital media.