The LEGO Group has launched a new programme of fun interactive guides, games and play activities designed to help parents raise digitally smart families.
At a time when we are spending more time online than ever before, the new experiences explore and promote a better understanding of key digital citizenship skills such as digital empathy, screen time management, and privacy and safe sharing among the whole family.
The playful new tools and activities have been developed by the LEGO Group in collaboration with the DQ Institute – a world-leading think tank on digital citizenship and child online safety – to equip children and families with the digital knowledge and skills needed to thrive and be safe in a digital world.
At the heart of the new activities just launched is Doom the Gloom, a mix of mini-games and interactive videos that provide children with the opportunity to playfully explore and learn more about safety and wellbeing in the digital world.
The Doom the Gloom experience explores eight key competency areas identified by the DQ Institute’s DQ Framework that empower children to become positive digital citizens, who contribute to healthy digital communities.
Learning experiences include ‘Power Up to Power Down’, a mini game exploring screen-time management, and interactive video ‘What Online Hero Are You’, which shows the importance of being kind online. There is also a raft of items aimed at adults, such as the ‘Digitally Smart Guide’, which offers parents a ‘crash course’ in the key digital citizenship skills that their children will learn about through the Doom the Gloom experience.
Doom the Gloom also includes a ‘Hero Builder’ feature, where children can design their own virtual minifigures and add accessories they gather throughout the course of the experience. Accessories are unlocked after each mini-game or interactive video is completed – and children are encouraged to upload screenshots of their minifigures to the LEGO Life platform to celebrate their digital citizenship journey.
“As children are spending more and more time online with home-based learning and social distancing, it is critically important for parents and families to be equipped with tools that they can easily use to empower their children in becoming good digital citizens with critical thinking at a young age,” said Yuhyun Park, Founder of the DQ Institute and international expert in digital skills and child online safety.
The new experiences add to the suite of tools, guidance and experiences the LEGO Group offers families to empower all children to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to thrive in a digital world.
Kathrine Kirk Muff, VP of Social Responsibility at the LEGO Group, comments: “Play should be as safe in the digital world as in the physical one. That’s why we design all our digital products and experiences with child safety at the core. What’s more, we want to play our part in ensuring children and families can learn about digital safety and wellbeing through playful experiences. We hope these new activities enable families to playfully explore what it means to be a good friend and player online – a digital citizen – to nurture healthy digital safety habits and better understand how they can contribute to safer and more positive communities in a digital age.”
The new Doom the Gloom parent and family focused experiences are being launched globally in English from 6 October and German from 4 November and will be available at www.LEGO.com/digitalsafety. All activities, experiences and guides are available free.
