Scott, Fiona, Chesworth, Liz, Kontovourki, Stavroula, Murcia, Karen, Murris, Karin, Balnaves, Kim, Bannister, Cath, Christofi, Anna Maria, Kuria, Daniel, Maditsi, Kwakwadi, Menning, Soern Finn, Neokleous, Theoni, Peers, Joanne, Roscoe, Shabana, Samuels, Vanessa, Scott, Carol, Caetano-Silva, Giovanna, Tsoukka, Anastasia, Wang, Yao, Woodward, Nadia and Trzebiatowski, Cat (2025) ‘I just go headbutt a tree or something’: Children’s contextualised digital play drivers and subjective well-being in the UK, South Africa, Australia and Cyprus. New Media and Society. ISSN 1461-4448 (In Press)

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Abstract

The relationship between children’s digital play and well-being remains under-researched, with debates often polarised and limited by a lack of holistic studies in diverse global contexts. This article draws on empirical data from an ecoculturally-informed study of children’s (6–12) digital play in the UK, South Africa, Australia and Cyprus to examine how individual and contextual circumstances influence children’s self-led digital play choices and practices. We theorise ‘contextualised digital play drivers’ - understood as children’s own accounts, or adults’ interpretations, of the deep interests, needs and desires their play appears to fulfil. This approach moves beyond dominant lenses focused on individual autonomy, offering a more situated reading acknowledging the individual and contextual circumstances shaping digital play. Eleven contextualised digital play drivers are identified and discussed in relation to children’s well-being. The article concludes with implications for game designers, educators, families, policy and research methodology.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Children; digital play; contexts; well-being; international; ethnographic; motivations; videogames
Subjects:	Psychology
Date Deposited:	05 Jan 2026
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/14403

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