Liam Berriman

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About

Liam Berriman’s research sits at the intersection of childhood studies, digital media, and material culture, with a particular focus on how children’s play is transformed by smart toys and connected technologies. His most cited work, “Exploring the affordances of smart toys and connected play in practice” (2018, 32 citations), offers a vital conceptual framework for understanding the shifting dynamics of children’s play in an era of internet-enabled objects. Rather than simply cataloguing new gadgets, Berriman re-frames smart toy play within broader theoretical debates about materiality, agency, and practice, showing how children’s playful interactions are increasingly entangled with data flows, algorithmic responses, and networked infrastructures. This contribution has been influential in moving discussions beyond techno-optimism or moral panic, providing researchers with nuanced tools to analyse the lived experiences of young players. Berriman’s work is notable for its careful ethnographic attention to the messy realities of everyday play, and for bridging childhood studies with science and technology studies. His scholarship continues to shape how we think about children’s digital lives, making him a key voice in contemporary debates about play, technology, and childhood.