Alibis for Adult Play

Abstract

The social meanings of play sit at odds with norms of responsible and productive adult conduct. To be “caught” playing as an adult therefore risks embarrassment. Still, many designers want to create enjoyable, nonembarrassing play experiences for adults. To address this need, this article reads instances of spontaneous adult play through the lens of Erving Goffman’s theory of the interaction order to unpack conditions and strategies for nonembarrassing adult play. It identifies established frames, segregated audiences, scripts supporting smooth performance, managing audience awareness, role distancing, and, particularly, alibis for play: Adults routinely provide alternative, adult-appropriate motives to account for their play, such as child care, professional duties, creative expression, or health. Once legitimized, the norms and rules of play themselves then provide an alibi for behavior that would risk being embarrassing outside play.

Is Product Placement Really Worse Than Traditional Commercials? Cognitive Load and Recalling of Advertised Brands

“… Schudson (1984) submits that the origins of product placement in films can be found in the 1920s, when tobacco companies promoted smoking by having lead actors in films seen smoking cigarettes. In turn, De Beers (the diamond giant founded in 1888) promoted its products in the 1930s and 1940s using product placement, for example by changing the title of the film Diamonds Are Dangerous to Adventures in Diamonds.…”

Should Robots Blush?

“…Embarrassment can also be a resources for enhancing engagement with technological systems. Some studies have identifed embarrassment as a facilitating medium for engaging experience among the players of games [18,48], and between users and technologies [48]. Choi et al [12] noted that even though their participants were more embarrassed interacting with teleoperated robots they also perceived them as more sociable than autonomous robots.…”

Learning-by-making as a Tool for Provoking Placemaking Initiatives in Yakutsk, North-Eastern Siberia

“…This ABAR process was based on my affinities for maps (Frosham, 2015;Marks, 2014), places (Nykänen, 2020;Sandberg, 2020), mosaics (Shavit, 2018), playfulness (Stott, 2017), art in placemaking (Kettunen & Sarkkinen, 2020) as well as photographs as mean of understanding (Luukkonen, 2009). The purpose was to gather visual information about places as experienced, emotional and imaginary (von Bonsdorff, 2007(von Bonsdorff, , 2017, using participatory visual arts techniques (photography and mosaic making), modified and blended with theory and an understanding of play as permission (Deterding, 2017;Walsh, 2019) and spatial dyads (Juel Larsen, 2015). Still, based on lessons learned in my earlier artistic playful interventions (Luostarinen et al, 2018;Luostarinen, 2019aLuostarinen, , 2019b into places, the special emphasis in regards to play was to give time to introverted, intellectual and reflective slow-play.…”