Children’s digital play as collective family resilience in the face of the pandemic
Open accessAbstract
In this article we explore how digital play as conducted through various social media and online meeting platforms facilitated resiliency and confidence building in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using day-in-the-life methodology and narrative inquiry, we disseminate and examine observations collected on children aged 2-10 during lockdown in a Newfoundland neighbourhood. Children utilized platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Zoom to embrace their agentic digital play in ways that repurposed the platforms to fulfil life milestones and social needs otherwise impacted and disrupted by pandemic restrictions. Through a series of vignettes and interviews, our research not only examines how such digital play benefits children and their healthy development, but how parents reacted to and assisted with their children’s agentic digital platform manipulation and how this provided positive benefits and enriching experiences to the entire family. We additionally explore the conflicts and tensions both children and parents encountered in securely implementing free play via digital platforms, including fears of excess screen-time, digital dependency, and online threats, all of which risk limiting children’s ability to independently explore their creativity and identities through digital play if not handled sensitively. Despite the hurdles to implementing digital play, this study exposes why it is essential for families to navigate this online terrain; this study ultimately poses that digital play and online platforms not only were beneficial to maintaining and building family resilience during the pandemic but will be vital assets in sustaining resiliency and positive mindsets moving forward with pandemic recovery.
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Three studies did not administer any questionnaire but conducted unstructured interviews with subjects or a descriptive analysis.
“while three studies did not administer any questionnaire but conducted unstructured interviews with the subjects or a descriptive analysis [75–77].”
From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [75]
Burke et al. found that with the use of TikTok, children were more able to share activities, create a platform for their creative expression, and engage in new and alternative forms of digital play.
“They found that with the use of TikTok, children were more able to share activities, create a platform for their creative expression, and engage in new and alternative forms of digital play.”
From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [75]
Ten studies differentiated the population between active and passive users, while only one conducted a content analysis of posts, hashtags, or videos.
“Given that, ten studies differentiated the population between active and passive users [42, 67, 70, 72, 74–79], while only one conducted a content analysis of the posts, hashtags, or videos [78].”
From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [75]
Four of the included studies assessed wellbeing indicators, like creativity, innovation, life satisfaction, and health habits, while sixteen assessed mental disorder indicators such as depression, anxiety, stress or body image issues.
“Four of the studies [68, 75, 79, 80] assessed wellbeing indicators, like creativity, innovation, life satisfaction, and health habits, while sixteen assessed mental disorder indicators such as depression, anxiety, stress or body image issues [42, 67, 68, 70–73, 76–79, 81–85].”
From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [75]
Except for the study by Burke et al., most included articles indicated an overall negative impact of TikTok on the mental health of adolescent users.
“Except for the study by Burke et al. [75], most included articles indicated an overall negative impact of TikTok on the mental health of adolescent users.”
From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [75]
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“Burke et al. [75] evaluated the possible positive implications of SM use during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Influential
- Authors
- Burke, A., Kumpulainen, K., & Smith, C.
- Affiliations
- Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA)
- Simon Fraser University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Burke, Anne
- Venue
- Journal of Early Childhood Literacy
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2023-02-28
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 8-34
- ISSN
- 1468-7984 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-2919
- PMC
- PMC9978233
- OpenAlex
- W4322622925
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 16.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Early Childhood Literacy (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Literacy, Media, and Education
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Methods and Impacts
- Keywords
- children's digital play, family resilience, COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown, social media, TikTok, YouTube, Zoom, parental mediation, screen time, digital dependence, online risks, children's agency, early childhood, family well-being
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