Is my dog "playing" tablet games? Exploring human perceptions of dog-tablet interactions

Anna Zamansky, Dirk van der Linden, Sofya Baskin, Vitaliya Kononova

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Playful interaction of pets with tablets is a spreading phenomenon. Thousands of videos of people giving tablets to their pets to "play" can be found online, and training schools are offering classes teaching tablet skills for dogs. While the nature of pets "playing" with tablets is yet to be fully understood, some works highlight the potential dangers of such interactions. Humans - both pet owners and pet professionals, play a pivotal role in shaping the way pets interact with technology, both in terms of promoting pet-oriented technologies, as well as posing requirements for them. This paper presents an exploratory study of human perceptions and attitudes towards playful interactions of dogs with tablets. Our results reveal mixed feelings towards this phenomenon, and awareness of the potential dangers of such interactions. Moreover, roughly half of the participants do not consider such interactions as "play", leading to further questions concerning the motivations of pet owners for exposing their pets to technology and the future of mobile apps for pet play.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI PLAY 2017 - Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
PublisherACM
Pages477-484
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9781450348980
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Oct 2017
Externally publishedYes
Event4th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2017 - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Duration: 15 Oct 201718 Oct 2017

Publication series

NameCHI PLAY 2017 - Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play

Conference

Conference4th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2017
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityAmsterdam
Period15/10/1718/10/17

Keywords

  • ACI
  • Animal-Computer Interaction
  • Perceptions of play

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