CHI 2010 special interest group: creating prosocial media for children

Children are introduced to social networking at younger and younger ages through commercially-centered virtual worlds and social gaming sites like Club Penguin, Neopets, and Webkinz. A small and growing subset of these Web 2.0 sites use social media to address prosocial values in children. This Special Interest Group focuses on "prosocial media for children", which we define as social media that strive to increase children's awareness of the lives and needs of others and promote caring about the welfare and well-being of others. Participants in this SIG are invited to join the growing discussion regarding the design and development of children's prosocial media. Participants will review 3 - 6 short examples, and then break into small groups that will host facilitated discussions about the issues and challenges surrounding design and development of children's prosocial media. A primary goal of this SIG is to foster the development of a community of researchers and practitioners who are focused on designing and developing prosocial media for children.