[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-592013-105":59,"doc-detail-592013-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","virtual-toys-the-mediatization-of-play-on-youtube","Virtual Toys - The Mediatization of Play on YouTube","","Virtual Toys - The Mediatization of Play on YouTube examines how popular YouTube toy-play videos shape storylines and influence children’s development. The analysis links play content to possible commercialization while also highlighting benefits such as fine-motor skill development, socialization, and learning. It emphasizes algorithmic effects on viewing, calling for parental oversight and communication. Drawing on research and platform data, it outlines themes from a sample of made-for-kids toy-play videos and their broader implications for media literacy.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/virtual-toys-the-mediatization-of-play-on-youtube/592013/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/virtual-toys-the-mediatization-of-play-on-youtube/592013.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Mabel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-01","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How does YouTube influence children’s toy-play viewing experiences?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"YouTube viewing is shaped by algorithmic influences and recommended content. Parental oversight is needed, along with regular communication about what children watch.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What developmental benefits does the article associate with toy-play videos?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The author argues that such videos may support fine motor skills, socialization, and learning, even while they can contribute to commercialization.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What is the article’s approach to analyzing toy-play content?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It analyzes a sample of popular YouTube toy-play videos by first reviewing scholarship on play theories, YouTube creators, and mediatized representations, then presenting data, emerging themes, and implications for children’s development and media literacy.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},592013,1792190273,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},7971474920318,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/74000ee537e6b0ca360?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1788430171632181674","Virtual Toys  \nThe Mediatization of Play on YouTube  \n• Bhoomi K. Thakore  \nThe author analyzed popular YouTube toy play videos, reviewing the range of storylines and their impact and influence. She argues that, although such videos may contribute to the commercialization of toys and play, they may also facilitate development of fine motor skills, socialization, and learning.  \nShe notes that, as with all Internet content, YouTube viewing is subject to algorithmic influences, and parents must oversee their children’s use and regularly communicate with them about video content. Key words: media and play; YouTube Kids; YouTube Partner Program; YouTube and play  \nIntroduction  \nLaunched in 2005, YouTube is now the second-most visited website in the world (following only its parent company, Google), generating billions of daily views. Although many users may assume YouTube to be simply a website for video playback, the range of its technological advancements have improved its content and significantly affected media socialization. YouTube is one of the more complete social networks because it allows users to register, create channels, post videos, modify their profiles with personal information, add images, write, comment, and share the videos on other platforms (Burgess and Green 2018; Neumann and Herodotou 2020). Given its popularity, YouTube today has essentially replaced television as the primary conduit of entertainment media (Tolson 2010; Strangelove 2015; Burgess and Green 2018) .  \nAccording to a study by the Pew Research Center (Auxier and Anderson 2021), an estimated 81 percent of adults and 95 percent of young adults (ages eighteen to twenty-nine) in the United States watch YouTube. A prior Pew study (Perrin and Anderson 2019) found that users are turning to YouTube for much more than entertainment. Half of its users called YouTube very important in  \n303  \nAmerican Journal of Play, volume 16, numbers 2 and 3 © The 2024 Strong [Contact Bhoomi K. Thakore at bhoomi.thakore@uconn.edu](Contact Bhoomi K. Thakore at bhoomi.thakore@uconn.edu)  \nhelping them learn to do things they had never done. About 20 percent of the users reported it very important in helping them understand news and current events. Most new content gets posted by a small percentage of YouTube channels with high numbers of subscribers, and most daily uploads occur in languages other than English. Many parents visit YouTube to learn something or to stay informed, and they also allow their children access to YouTube videos. Roughly 80 percent of parents with children under twelve years of age let them watch YouTube at least occasionally, and 34 percent allow their children to watch YouTube regularly (Perrin and Anderson 2019) .  \nThe most popular videos include content aimed at children. SocialBlade, an U.S. media analytics website that compiles viewer data to track progress and growth, has created a noteworthy list of the top one hundred made-for-kids YouTube channels (SocialBlade n.d.). Today, kids’ viewing is mostly facilitated by the YouTube Kids app, a child friendly interface launched in 2015 that operates on-view history and recommended content, similar to its parent version except that it requires no registration. In a study in the United Kingdom of children seven years old and younger (Marsh et al. 2019), an estimated 80 percent used YouTube, and 59 percent used YouTube Kids. Although most children under age thirteen likely use their parents’ accounts, 11 percent had their own YouTube accounts, and 16 percent had registered with the YouTube Kids app. On average, children in the study spent 1.39 hours each weekday and 1.47 hours each weekend day viewing YouTube videos, approximately four to nine minutes in length each. The most popular content consumed by children included videos of play, toys, nursery rhymes, television interests, funny videos, and animal videos.  \nYouTube Kids itself developed in the shadow of many years of YouTube children’s conte","cbCaiblix0CTIe1O","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiblix0CTIe1O","pdf",223134,17,"English","# Introduction\n## The Purposes of Play\n## YouTube and Children’s Viewing\n## Toy Play Videos and Mediatized Play\n## Literature Review","[{\"question\":\"How does YouTube influence children’s toy-play viewing experiences?\",\"answer\":\"YouTube viewing is shaped by algorithmic influences and recommended content. Parental oversight is needed, along with regular communication about what children watch.\"},{\"question\":\"What developmental benefits does the article associate with toy-play videos?\",\"answer\":\"The author argues that such videos may support fine motor skills, socialization, and learning, even while they can contribute to commercialization.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the article’s approach to analyzing toy-play content?\",\"answer\":\"It analyzes a sample of popular YouTube toy-play videos by first reviewing scholarship on play theories, YouTube creators, and mediatized representations, then presenting data, emerging themes, and implications for children’s development and media literacy.\"}]","Virtual Toys - The Mediatization of Play on YouTube | PDF",1792073674,43]