This research report sets out the findings from qualitative research with 40 children aged 8-16 who told us they were spending more time online than they planned to or realised, and 37 parents who shared this concern. There were two key aims of the project: to identify which features were influencing time spent on online platforms, and to explore how these interacted with different types of content (such as short-form or long-form content). A further objective was to explore what children and their parents would like to see platforms do to support positive time management.
What ‘persuasive design’ means in this research
‘Persuasive design’ refers to the design features of an online service that can influence user behaviour. Examples of the behaviour that can be influenced include making a purchase, signing up for a service, increasing engagement, or viewing support materials or safety settings. These features are typically distinct from core usability elements of service design intended primarily to enable access and navigation, such as filters, login processes and information architecture.
In this report, we use ‘persuasive design’ to describe elements of service design that were identified in the research as shaping participants’ engagement with services, including whether users are presented with choice and how choices are presented or streamlined, which can have positive or negative impacts on the user.
The term ‘persuasive design’ was not used with participants during recruitment or fieldwork.
Children can derive positive experiences from engaging online and what amounts to proportionate and positive time spent online will vary between individuals and situations. Therefore this research does not define a specific amount of time that is ‘too much’ nor does it assign positive or negative value to specific amounts of time spent online. Rather, it is focussed on understanding the experiences of children who self-report spending more time online than they planned to or realised, and their parents, and how they can be supported to make informed choices about their online experiences.
Based on the direct feedback shared by these children and their parents and further behavioural analysis, the research identified four key categories of persuasive design features that were linked to these children spending more time online than they would like; impulse activating, reward based, dissociative and social influence. The prominence and impact of these features varied depending on the age of the child and platform type. Children and their parents shared a range of ideas about what they thought could better support children to manage their time on online platforms. Across all age groups included in the research, there was low understanding overall of how persuasive features could shape their behaviour or contribute to potential negative impacts.