A surface level heuristic evaluation of kids digital interfaces. No user testing was conducted. I used research informed criteria to simulate how young users might interact and experience the product.
By @Arthi Abilasha
More than one-third of parents with a child under 12 say their child began interacting with a smartphone before the age of 5 (Pew Research, 2020).
In the past decade, the number of children interacting with digital interfaces has grown exponentially. With the widespread adoption of mobile devices, kids are now engaging with apps and the web at much younger ages than the previous generations. In the U.S., 98% of households with children aged 0–8 owned a mobile device in 2017, and 42% of children in that age group had their own tablet (Common Sense Media).
This increasing use of smartphones has contributed to the explosive growth of the kids’ app industry, now valued at over $10 billion. Apps aimed at children include education, entertainment, and social interaction. Many of them are built around a subscription-based model that offer curated experiences for parents while generating steady revenue for developers (FoxData).
While this growth presents new opportunities, it also raises a few important concerns.
In the year 2024 Oxford announced “Brain Rot” as its Word of the Year. Brain rot is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. This reflects the growing unease around cognitive fatigue from low-quality digital content (PMC article). As screen time increases, so does the need for intentional, emotionally aware, and developmentally appropriate interface design.
Growing up in the digital age, Children are often more tech-savvy than the average adult. They are less frustrated and generally experience less friction when using digital tools. However, being “digitally fluent” doesn’t mean they are developmentally protected . They are subjected to more visual overload, poor navigation design, and emotionally unsafe content that can have long-term effects( Nielsen Norman Group, Children’s UX)
As a UX designer exploring child-centered interaction design, I wanted to better understand what makes these interfaces effective and how they differ from adult interfaces.
This study evaluates 10 widely used children’s apps, spanning games, learning tools, video platforms, and creative environments, through the lens of usability, cognitive demand, and emotional design.
The audit draws on four complementary research streams and heuristics specifically validated for 6–12-year-old children, recognizing that children’s perception, cognitive load, and interaction models differ substantially from adults.