Platformized childhood: How app stores construct children’s software audiences through platform governance and industry lore
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines how app stores construct children’s software audiences through platform governance strategies and industry practices. Drawing on platform studies, critical childhood studies, and the concept of audience commodity, we use the critical walkthrough method and textual analysis to investigate the material choices of Google Play and Apple App Store . Our comparative analysis of their children-focused stores and developer submission platforms highlights tensions between the data-driven construction of children audiences and regulatory requirements to protect children’s privacy. We argue that children’s audiences are shaped by the discursive practices of app marketplaces, governance strategies specific to children’s apps, and industry lore about children’s audiences. Together, these strategies create what we term “platformized childhood.”
Source: Media Culture & Society
Authors: Karla Zavala Barreda, Stefania Milan
Institution: University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,650
OpenAlex ID: W4408888003