The rituals of mediatization playing

a reflection on the articulation of sense in the production and consumption of the online play by connected kids

Abstract

In the current media context, it is clear that children are increasingly appropriating digital devices not only to communicate and socialize, but also to play. The play as a cultural practice strongly linked to childhood is modeled and even resignified as communication possibilities change. In this sense, the aim of this paper is thinking about the crossing resulting from the mediatized context in which we live, in order to understand how the constitution of others and, perhaps, new ways of playing for the connected child. For this, we look at consumption rituals in order to understand how such ritualistic actions contribute these mediatized ways of playing. Therefore, thinking about youtubers kids’ games as devices able to articulate senses, as a useful way to understand the child’s place in its mediatized dimensions, since such practices have the ability to promote consumer goods, guide and shape tastes, as well as worldviews.