Dispersing Childhood Boundaries

Fall 2023

Children are exposed to a variety of entertainment-oriented information too early. Curiosity and poor self-control make them the "device labor" of this era. I created a virtual world for people to experience kids trapped by fragmented information, and raise awareness on protecting the naivety of the next generation, which reflects the pros ands cons of tech development.

Virtual Production & XR experience that showcase how fragmented technology era shapes children's mindsets in distorted ways

Video Link

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Design Process

Background Research

Post-Mortem Portrait photographs and Child Labor

Victorian photographs are most commonly portraits of the dead. Young children had no photographs taken while living.

On the top, the black and white glass pieces present fragmented childhood because of being exploited for labor

The background layer represents the effect of digital era.

A collage that showcases the children of two eras intertwined.

Victorian England was a child-dominated society. Families tended to be large, and the birth rate increased rapidly.

As industrialization continued, child labor became more visible, as massless of ragged, stunted children crowed the city streets.

Early exposure and integration into adult work prevents them from growing up healthily.

A GIF collage that showcases the children of two eras intertwined.

Similarities between eras

Post-Mortem Portrait photographs and Child Labor

Similarities between both eras: children’s early exposure to the adult world.

Today, children view fast-paced information almost the Same Way as Adults. Thus, they Lose Innocence and become Miniature Adults.

Today: caused by fragmented and entertained information because of rapid technological advancement

Referring to Victorian era: physical body getting involved in unaffordable jobs, childhood boundaries were dispersed

Kids today are growing up addicted to and inseparable from electronics. Low self-control and curiosity make them become the "Devise Labor" of the era.

Both immersed in a world that they deserved.

Reference

“The Disappearance of Childhood” by Neil Postman

“Curiosity is replaced by cynicism or, even worse, arrogance.”

“The literate mind has sown the seeds of its own destruction through the creation of media that render irrelevant those “traditional skills" on which literacy rests.”

The Effect of “Information Cocoon”

Placing people in an invisible communication universe that they hear only what they choose and only what comforts them and pleases them (Sunstein, 2006, p. 9).

Development

Analysis on commonalities of
children and adults

Using mindmap to: Exploration the boundaries of children and adults that are supposed to exist

Primary Research

interviewing several parents about their understanding of the boundaries between children and high-tech products

85% of parents allow their children under age 6 to use technology device

Only 2 out of 10 parents are concerned with the content their kids browse

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Design Concept

How to exhibit self-awareness awakening in children?

Create a virtual scenario that immerses the audience in the experience of being trapped in the information cocoon.

Reflect on the pros and cons of the rapid technological development. The use of virtual reality filters highlights the importance of this issue in a more intuitive way.

Animation Creation

Utilizing Narrative to illustrate the affects on children's social behavior

To the new generations, toys are no longer attractive. Screens with fragmented information begin to entangle the development of kids.

In this animation, audience will experience the growing process of a child under this digitalized world.

1

Toys signifying purity and children being attracted by toys, as their natural instincts

2

Toys become not intriguing at all when screens appear

TikTok & short videos leading to blindly follow the influencers
Quick scrolling of mass media fragments

3

Kids start imitating adults’ behaviors at a very young age

3A

Tendency of imitating violence

3B

Getting tattoo without a consciousness of their bodies

The Eyeball represents eye disease
caused by the screen

4

Kids trapped in the information cocoon that does not belong to their age

Avatar Creation and Digital Fabrication

I used the current clothing industry as a medium to show the influence of technology on children.

Crafting digital garments using CLO 3D

The puffy organza reveals private body parts that are typically meant to remain covered

Eye disease caused by staring at the screen for a long time

The graphic displays the signs such as tattoos on the body and QR codes on diaper that showcased the influence of the digital era

In the Victoria era, many children were forced into child labors at clothing factories.

garment
as the medium

XR experience

break the boundary to let the audience experience in real life

To make a enhancement in the experience in real life | Employed both VR and AR | Explore on the level of getting involved through the two mediums

1. VR

Providing immersive experience from the perspective of the kids, letting the audience visualize the quantity of screen time they have browsed every day, being trapped in the “information cocoon”.

In the 360-degree experience, I felt that this world can be harmful for not only the kids but also every one. However, this is the world that we are living in currently.

Nandini | College Student
view >7 hours per day on screen

Cosmo | College Student
view >9 hours per day on screen

The VR version of this video seems quite different, and I was deeply impressed by the visual impact. All the blue strings, which stands for information cocoons around me, are so immersive that it seems like I was trapped in the middle of it.