From Moral Panic to Systemic Change: Making Child-Centered Design the Default
In this vision article, Radesky and human-computer-interaction researcher Alexis Hiniker argue that framing children's technology problems around individual "screen time" limits places an unfair burden on families and does little to change the underlying products. They contend that app stores, streaming services, and other platform-level chokepoints are the more effective place to intervene, because that is where design decisions about defaults, monetization, and engagement features actually get made. The piece proposes that making child-centered design the default setting — rather than an opt-in feature families must seek out — would reduce the burden on parental gatekeeping and create more equitable experiences across income levels. It closes with a research agenda for studying how platform-level design changes affect children's wellbeing and how to move industry toward adopting them, positioning Radesky's applied work within a broader argument for structural rather than individual solutions.
Radesky, Jenny, and Alexis Hiniker. "From Moral Panic to Systemic Change: Making Child-Centered Design the Default." International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction 31 (March 2022): 100351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2021.100351