The relationship between online and offline play: friendship and exclusion

In this chapter, the relationship between children’s play in online and offline environments is explored. For children in contemporary societies, the boundaries between these two domains are becoming increasingly blurred as children’s play spaces expand to include online sites. In the project outlined in this book, we were interested in the way in which children’s play has changed in recent decades, especially with the influence of media and new technologies. Given that children are spending increasing amounts of time online, it is inevitable that their play activities now move across virtual and non-virtual domains. The chapter identifies both the continuities and discontinuities in this play, focusing on children in Monteney Primary School in Sheffield. The extent and nature of children’s engagement in online activities is outlined and the way in which friendships are constructed across online and offline spaces is analysed. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the implications of this analysis for the study of play