ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how traditional types of play might be disappearing and describes how contemporary children and young people have been served by the online environment during their developmental period. It examines how online play might impact upon the more traditional types of play in which children engaged in prior to the advent of what is commonly known as ‘Web 2.0’. The chapter discusses what lessons might be now be learned from the experiences of these pioneers. The Opies reported that some of the terms their 1950s and 1960s child participants used in their outdoor free play could be directly related back to much earlier forms of spoken English. There are currently many websites and apps available for young children. The activities that unfold in Club Penguin, NeoPets and many similar websites involve a child using an online avatar to interact with other players within a fantasy environment.
