2023/09/20 by Lisa K. Forbes, Carissa Craven · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Child Development and Digital Technology #Impact of Technology on Adolescents
paper · doi:10.5920/jpa.1326
openalex publication_date 2023/09/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
The current state of the world can negatively impact mental and physical health. Play has been show to be a powerful tool to help adults recover a sense of well-being; however, play is commonly excluded from adult life due to beliefs that play is childish, trivial, and a waste of time. This article reports the findings of an iterative, three-round Delphi study which created a communication process among a panel of 15 play experts to better understand a) play’s definition/essence, b) play’s place in society, c) the existence of the decline in play with age, d) current play advocacy efforts, and e) the overall lack of research on play in adulthood. Panelists indicated an influential component of changing adults’ relationship to play is by accessing them on an emotional level. Therefore, instead of reporting the results traditionally, the data are presented as a poem which emotionally communicates the experts’ dream for a better future of play.