Active Gaming - The Future of Play? - Lisa Witherspoon and John P. Manning

Oct 15, 2026

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Active Gaming: The Future of Play? examines technology-driven games, focusing on active gaming as an evolving form of children’s play. It reviews how play functions and supports developmental benefits, surveys literature on technology-mediated play, and contrasts play’s role with the decline of physical play in contemporary culture. The authors argue that active gaming meets research-based play criteria and may help address the growing absence of traditional play.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Play as intrinsically motivated

Play free of externally imposed rules

Technology-driven play and reduced physical activity

Active Gaming: The Future of Play? s Lisa Witherspoon John P. Manning The authors examine technology-driven games—especially active gaming—asan evolving form of children’s play. They offer an overview of play and its developmental beneﬁts, describe the literature on the emergence of technology-driven play, and reﬂect on the diminishment of physical play in contemporary culture. They suggest that active gaming, which they describe in detail, not only meets the research-based deﬁnition of play, but also may ﬁll the role of traditional play whose growing absence has left behind a vacuum. Keywords: active gaming; play; physical activity; technology; young children Introduction Today’s children engage infrequently in physical play for a number of reasons. Parents feel uncomfortable allowing their children to play outside after dark—and in some cases during the day—without adult supervision. Playgrounds are not maintained and are often inaccessible. Schools frequently suppress play by eliminating recess and physical education in favor of more time for academics. In addition, contemporary society’s immersion in technology has become more than an enthralling trend. In today’s high-tech, commercialized world, the outdoor pick-up games once common in neighborhoods have been replaced with digital video games played on computers, iPods, and cell phones. Why this lack of physical play is signiﬁcant lies in the very nature of play. Children engage in play because it is natural and they ﬁnd joy in the experience. Children all over the world play regardless of the culture in which they reside. Children engage in play whenever the opportunity exists (Rogers and Sawyers 1988) . Most modern play theorists believe play teaches children life skills (Johnson, Christie, and Wardle 2005; Koster 2005): through play they learn about their world and their relationship to it (Davidson and Quinn 1993) . In play, children not only develop the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive domains but their imaginations and creativity as well (Valsiner 1989) . 464 American Journal of Play, volume 4, number 4 © The Strong [Contact Lisa Witherspoon at withersp@usf.edu](Contact Lisa Witherspoon at withersp@usf.edu) According to Fein, Rubin, and Vanenberg (1983) and Rogers and Sawyers (1988), there are six factors that make up what we might be call the disposition of play: Play is intrinsically motivated. Play is relatively free of externally imposed rules. Play is carried out as if the activity were real. Play focuses on the process rather than any product. Play is dominated by the players. And play requires the active involvement of the player. Universally, researchers consider play intrinsically motivated. A child does not need to be directed to play. Children play not to meet basic needs or obligations but for the enjoyment of play itself (Johnson et al. 2005; Fein et al. 1983) . The development of intrinsic motivation in children beneﬁts them throughout their lives. When children play, they learn—and they enjoy the experience. Play does not need external rewards or additional encouragement (Leeper, Greene, and Nisbett 1973). In fact, external rewards may taint children’s own feelings and motives and, eventually, the external rewards may even replace the internal ones. Self-paced, children-controlled play allows kids to make the most of their lives. We need to let children pick the level of skill and challenge with which they feel comfortable. When children frequently experience failure or frustration with tasks too difﬁcult for them, they are not likely to want to pursue such activities and may learn to avoid them (Rogers and Sawyers 1988) . Importantly, play is generally free of externally imposed rules. On a playground during recess, children create their own games and modify existing games, which encourages their creativity and their taking ownership of the play by making the rules. In physical-education classrooms, a curriculum sa

FAQs

Why do today’s children engage less in physical play?

Reasons include limited opportunities outdoors, lack of maintained or accessible playgrounds, school practices that cut recess and physical education, and the shift toward technology-based entertainment with less supervised physical activity.

What are the six factors that define the disposition of play?

Play is intrinsically motivated, relatively free of externally imposed rules, carried out as if the activity were real, focused on process rather than product, dominated by the players, and requires active involvement from the player.

How does active gaming relate to the definition of play?

The authors describe active gaming in detail and contend that it meets the research-based definition of play, potentially filling the gap left by the diminishing presence of traditional play.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McGucket