From mastering numbers to mastering the art of toothbrushing, it seems there’s a children’s app tailored for every need. Recent statistics in the United States reveal that over half of toddlers and three-quarters of preschoolers routinely use mobile apps. Consequently, the app market has seen a surge in options designed to captivate and educate kids. These apps deliver enjoyable interactive experiences, often coupled with valuable educational content, effectively captivating young minds. However, there’s a downside: these apps are so effective at engagement that children may find it challenging to put their devices down. If you’ve ever wondered about the struggle to detach your child from their screen, read on.

What is persuasive design?

While there are national guidelines to help parents navigate the complexities of children’s screen time, a critical aspect often goes unnoticed – the design of the technology itself. Persuasive design involves employing strategies to capture and retain our attention, a phenomenon experienced by both children and adults, often unconsciously, when scrolling through social media or resisting the temptation to play another round of games like Candy Crush.

If persuasive design can influence the screen habits of adults, who are presumed to possess regulatory skills and self-control, then toddlers and children are even more susceptible. Unfortunately, this aspect of the screen-time debate is not given the scrutiny it deserves.

To assess the persuasiveness of kids’ apps, we applied a well-established model of persuasive design to 132 of the most popular early childhood apps downloaded by Australian families from the Android and iOS app stores. Our findings revealed three primary ways in which persuasive design features keep kids coming back.

1. Motivation

Persuasive design aims to tap into children’s emotions to maintain their motivation to engage with the app. This is achieved by providing instant rewards, as children are still developing their ability to delay gratification. The tested apps offered numerous instant rewards, such as sparkles, cheers, fireworks, virtual toys, and stickers, compared to delayed rewards. Additionally, provoking empathy by incorporating beloved characters like Hello Kitty or Bluey, who provide social feedback, plays a significant role in keeping kids motivated.

2. Ability

No one enjoys playing a game that’s too challenging to win. Features related to ability provide continuous instructions to prevent disengagement. Repetition, a key aspect, enhances a child’s sense of mastery. However, excessive repetition may lead to more solitary use of apps and make it difficult for parents to engage in social play with their child.

3. Prompts

Commercial prompts, especially prevalent in free apps, primarily serve to generate revenue. These prompts include pop-up advertisements, offers to multiply rewards by watching ads, or prompting in-app purchases. While adults may discern the commercial intent behind these prompts, children are less likely to understand.

So, what can be done?

While some of these features in moderation contribute to maintaining basic app engagement, our research underscores that many persuasive design features primarily serve business models. It’s crucial to initiate conversations about ethical design that doesn’t exploit children’s developmental vulnerabilities, including holding app developers accountable. As the early childhood app market is vast, parents may lack sufficient information and time to assess each app thoroughly. Nevertheless, a few strategies can give parents an advantage:

– Engage in a conversation with your child after app usage, asking questions about what they learned or enjoyed the most.
– Play the app with your child to evaluate its worthiness. Consider factors like an excess of rewards, distracting prompts, or excessive repetition.
– Look for indicators like “teacher-approved” on the Play Store or consult reviews from reputable sources such as Children and Media Australia and Common Sense Media before downloading.

Ideally, your child should take the lead in play, actively problem-solving, and be able to end their app time relatively easily.