Today, children spend 50% less time playing outdoors than children of the 1970s as kids nowadays choose to satisfy their need for stimulation and social contact with friends and peers by turning to video games instead of playing outdoors in the playground (Proud, 2019). Hence, children’s shifted preference over time from playing outdoors in the playground to spending most of their time indoors playing video games and surfing the internet has contributed to the lack of children in the open spaces and, therefore, the disappearance of playgrounds. The idea of the playground in the late 1800s was to provide a safe space for children to interact cognitively, creatively, emotionally, and socially with their surroundings and each other away from the streets where the danger of getting hit by cars prevailed (Hart, n.d.). However, the increased use of technology followed by the rapid development of such has provided a new safe avenue for kids to find fun and social interaction other than playgrounds, contributing to the gradual vanishing of such. According to MBA Universe (n.d.), a report by Common Sense Media reported that since 2013, there has been a significant increase in the ownership of electronic devices among children. In 2017, about half of the kids aged 8 and younger owned electronic devices, such as mobile phones and tablets (MBA Universe, n.d.). Therefore, increased accessibility to technology has induced children to engage in smartphones and their exciting features that serve as their virtual playground at a young age. Acknowledging the all-pervasive technology in children’s everyday life and its effect on replacing traditional playgrounds, this film focuses on the theme of “Disappearing Playground.” As the theme title suggests, the documentary focuses on both traditional and new-found forms of playgrounds to convey the reality of disappearing real tangible playgrounds and emerging virtual playgrounds as technology continues to contribute to changing the fundamental existence of space.
To study the hypothesis that the development of technology is changing the fundamental existence of space and, therefore, the disappearance of traditional playgrounds, I have decided the setting of this documentary to be the house where children interact with digital playgrounds through their mobile phones and physical playgrounds located near three (3) different stations in the island line: Kennedy Town Station, HKU Station, and Sai Ying Pun Station. Observing the playgrounds in the mentioned areas, this film aims to study the differences and similarities in how children interact between real tangible playgrounds and virtual playgrounds. Naturally, physical activities involved in playground play integrate information from the eyes, ears, fingers, arms, feet, and legs. However, children who spend most of their time indoors staring at the screen do not get to have such “multi-modal” experiences (Gill, 2013). Therefore, recognizing the contradictory experiences that different forms of playgrounds can offer children, this film tries to capture such contradicting characteristics that each form of playground possesses. In doing so, different filming techniques concerning the angles were used to effectively capture all aspects of the character and the surroundings that the characters in the film are interacting with. Namely, long shots, medium shots, and close-up shots were utilized. First, a long shot can highlight the space’s overall characteristics (Adorama, 2022). Therefore, a long shot has been used to observe the overall mood in the playground (empty or lively). Second, a medium shot was utilized to show the interaction between the kids in the playground and capture the dialogue between them by emphasizing their body language and facial expressions. Lastly, considering that the close-up shot is often used for detailed scenes (Dise 2016), a close-up shot was used to film how the child’s hand, specifically, interacts with the playground physically. Furthermore, I used the same angle for different situations to convey the story for a smoother transition and better comparison. Moreover, shifting the colors between different playgrounds was done to give a more distinct contrast of the moods in the playgrounds: dark for empty playgrounds and vibrant colors for active playgrounds – both real tangible playgrounds and virtual playgrounds.
Aside from concerns relating to the filming techniques, other concerns I focused on were the realization and learning I would gain through this film. Recognizing the disappearance of playgrounds made me question how we can make outdoor play more relevant given all the current forces keeping children indoors and make outdoor play matter once again, and that has made me come up with a suggestion: to meet the needs of today’s children by catching up with the ever-changing trend and embrace the increasing role of technology in children’s lives to connect both the digital and physical worlds to reimagine the outdoor playground. To make this come true, it is crucial to be able to leverage technology to offer outdoor opportunities for children to enjoy distinctive plays in outdoor play spaces and escape from the digital world for more varied experiences. For instance, the lights and sound effects of video games that interest the players can be incorporated into the playgrounds in the physical world, making it possible for the space to become digitally empowered to create a more exciting space for children to play without compromising the multi-modal experience that outdoor play evokes.
Bibliography
Hart, K. (n.d.). Learn the history of playgrounds and playground equipment from AAA State of Play. The history of playgrounds and the first playgrounds. https://www.aaastateofplay.com/history-of-playgrounds/
Proud, I. (2019, August 2). Creating relevant playgrounds in a tech-driven world. https://www.childinthecity.org/2019/02/08/creating-relevant-playgrounds-in-a-tech-driven-world/?gdpr=accept
Gill, T. (2013, October 23). Is technology the enemy of an outdoor childhood?. Rethinking Childhood. https://rethinkingchildhood.com/2013/10/23/technology-outdoor-childhood/
MBA Universe. (n.d.). Shortage of open spaces and playgrounds lead to negative tendencies in children. GD Topic: Shortage of Open Spaces and Playgrounds Lead to Negative Tendencies in Children. https://www.mbauniverse.com/group-discussion/topic/social-issues/shortage-of-open-spaces-and-playgrounds-lead-to-negative-tendencies-in-children
Dise, J. (2016, December 7). Filmmaking 101: Camera shot types | B&H explora – B&H photo video. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/video/tips-and-solutions/filmmaking-101-camera-shot-types
Adorama. (2022, May 6). 14 basic cinematography & film techniques for better cinematic shots – alc.
https://www.adorama.com/alc/14-basic-cinematography-techniques-for-better-cinematic-shots/
Hur, Rin
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I appreciate your intentions to document how the popularity of playgrounds have faded and to reflect the fading playground space but some of your statements and illustrations (e.g. children no longer interact with colourful equipment) are a bit arbitrary. I understand you need to support your narrative with footages matching your argument but your presentation could be unfair. In fact, your text is much more appropriate and robust in manifesting your ideas.
I also hope to see more of your analysis and comparison on the spatial design of the actual playground and the virtual playground. It shall be more insightful to respond to the idea of ‘the fundamental existence of the space’ mentioned in your text.