Cyborg Children: A Systematic Literature Review on the Experience of Children Using Extended Reality

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), are increasingly used with children.
• A systematic literature review was conducted to understand the research landscape of children's XR experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively review and analyze existing research on children's engagement with XR technologies.
• To identify key research areas, trends, and gaps in the field of XR for children.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of Scopus and Web of Science databases yielding 531 outputs.
• Content analysis utilizing Krippendorff's alpha for inter-rater reliability and Leximancer for text mining.

Main Results:

• Four primary research strands identified: clinical interventions, teaching/learning, user adoption/experience, and design/prototyping.
• Clinical interventions using head-mounted display (HMD)-supported VR constitute the most significant research area.
• Research growth is notable in clinical and educational XR applications since 2017; AR research remains limited, primarily in educational design.
• Limited research addresses children's safety concerns with XR and underrepresentation of studies on social-emotional skill development.

Conclusions:

• XR research for children is expanding, particularly in clinical and educational domains.
• Future research should prioritize XR's potential for enhancing children's psychosocial well-being and health.
• Further investigation is needed into XR safety and social-emotional development for children.