"They're Scamming Me": How Children Experience and Conceptualize Harm in Game Monetization

Abstract

Regulatory shifts are increasingly placing the onus on online service providers such as digital game developers and platforms to ensure that their services do not harm children. This creates an urgent need to examine how children experience and conceptualize harm in digital contexts, which may differ from adult-driven perceptions of harm. In this paper, we present the results of a study into children's experiences with game monetization which included a 'think-aloud' method in which children were given an AU$20 voucher to spend. Through our participants' (aged 7-14) vernacular of feeling 'scammed' or 'tricked', we argue that children experience harm principally through being misled or deceived by monetization features, rather than being due to what parents perceive as a misattribution of value toward digital items or overspending. Based on these results, we make game design recommendations to minimize children's harmful experiences with game monetization strategies.

Keywords: Monetization, Children, Safety by Design, Digital games