"Unboxing" Toddlers and Technology: An Ethnographic Case Study

Abstract

Through the observation of their four-year-old son's use of an iPad 2, the researcher and his wife attempted to better understand the perceptions, use, and motivations of young children both as parents and researchers, through an intrinsic, ethnographic case study. The study of this individual case may help parents and educators make informed decisions about technology use and the culture of young children who are digital, touch-screen natives. This case study should further help fill a void in the research base among younger children's use of touch-screen technology in a transparent and natural environment, the home. In general, the technology was seen as a tool of entertainment and was highly engaging to a fault. Content selection showed limitations due to content filters and marketing in addition to the limited control of written language and verbal articulation by the primary participant. Further questions for research include the following: What are the affects of intentional scaffolding, guided interaction, and direct instruction among toddlers and touch-screen technology? How does providing access to technology to children with demographic differences affect issues of social equality? How do Internet content filters influence content selection for populations with limited language command versus those with proficient language command?