Effects of Persuasive App Design and Self‐Regulation on Young Children’s Digital Disengagement

Despite the vast array of app choices available to children and evidence of a high prevalence of persuasive design features (e.g., rewards, character pressure, and aesthetic manipulation) within these apps, little is known about how, and to what extent, these design elements influence children’s digital app play. The current study investigated the effects of app persuasive design and children’s self‐regulation, and their interaction, on children’s ability to disengage from digital devices. The study adopted a three‐arm acute experimental design, wherein 73 children, aged 3–5 years, were randomly assigned to engage with one of three apps (of high, moderate, or low persuasive design), with a novel “digital disengagement” paradigm that measured the time to disengage from app play and researcher‐rated degree of independent disengagement. Children’s self‐regulation outside of digital contexts was also assessed. General linear models were used to compare the main effects of and interaction between app condition and child self‐regulation on children’s digital disengagement. Given similar disengagement means in high and moderate conditions, these were collapsed and compared with the low condition. Significant interactions between persuasive design (moderate‐high and low) and self‐regulation (high and low) were found for disengagement time and degree of independent disengagement for one of the two self‐regulation measures. Young children with higher self‐regulation were able to disengage from the digital device regardless of persuasive design level (even at moderate‐high levels). Children with lower self‐regulation disengaged more easily and promptly under low persuasive design but took longer and needed more support to disengage when exposed to moderate‐high persuasive design. This first‐of‐its‐kind study offers novel insight into which children are more susceptible to extended digital engagement due to persuasive design. The study highlights the importance of considering the design elements within apps together with the child’s abilities to aid families make more informed digital choices.